Just 55 vehicles used a park and ride in Wokingham during the whole month of October.
The low number of users at the 251-space Coppid Beech facility, on Oak Avenue off London Road, was highlighted at a recent council meeting.
The space had previously been labelled a ‘white elephant’ due to it being underused.
The latest user numbers were revealed after Cllr Shahid Younis (Conservative) asked for usage data for the park and ride that was created from developer contributions, and opened in 2021.
Answering the question at November’s full council meeting, Cllr Stephen Conway (Liberal Democrat), the leader of the council, said: “It should be noted that the number of vehicles parked does not directly translate into the number of bus journeys undertaken.
“There are two reasons for this. Firstly there can be more than one occupant per vehicle, and secondly some passengers use park and ride services to travel into Wokingham Borough.
“In relation to Coppid Beech, you’ll be aware that the current administration inherited a commitment from your administration.
“We have always had our doubts about it, but have sought to make it work.”
Cllr Younis then asked what specific strategies and upcoming initiatives are aimed at increasing the usage of these park and ride facilities, so we can encourage people to use more public transport?
Cllr Conway said: “.. we will be trialling all sorts of things that we think might stimulate greater use of these facilities because it is, as you quite rightly say, important as part of our action on climate emergency to try and promote wherever we can the use of buses, where possible.
Wokingham Borough Council was under a Conservative administration when the park and ride project was agreed.
Pauline Jorgensen, leader of the Conservative group at Wokingham Borough Council, said, “The developers of the nearby housing estate gave Wokingham Borough the land for use as a park and ride, to link up local residents to mainline railway stations such as Twyford and reduce congestion.
“We had the choice of taking the land or returning it to the developers to be built on.
“If it can’t be made to work as a park and ride, I hope that it will be retained by the council and used for some benefit to borough residents.”
Cllr Martin Alder, the newly appointed executive member for active travel, transport and highways, told Wokingham Today: “The car park at Coppid Beech can be used by anyone, including for electric vehicle charging.
It’s not a traditional park and ride site. Users can park and walk to the bus stop on the main road and use the Reading Buses Lion 4/X4 service, which runs between Bracknell and Reading via Wokingham.
“The running costs at Coppid Beech are lower than other park and ride sites, and it was funded by the Government’s Local Growth Fund from the Berkshire LEP, and section 106 developer money.
“We want to continue to improve usage at the site, and are exploring options which will start with better signage to the site.”
In response to a question from Wokingham Today, a spokesperson for Wokingham Borough Council confirmed usage figures for previous months.
May 2024 (27), June 2024 (30), July 2024 (53), August 2024 (32), and September 2024 (26).
