York Park and Ride use grows as customer confidence reaches all-time high

First Bus and City of York Council have announced that the Park and Ride network continues to grow in popularity with customer confidence at an all-time high.

In the latest survey of users, overall satisfaction scored 94 per cent with customers also marking the service nine out of 10 for journey time and cleanliness.

Those giving an ‘excellent’ rating for both these aspects also rose by nine per cent compared with two years ago, the last time the opinion survey was conducted.

In just over a year since the operating times on the Park and Ride were extended in July 2025 to begin at 5:45am and finish at 10:30pm, the number of people taking advantage of the earlier and late evening journeys has increased by 54%. 

Overall, the extra hours have helped attract over 75,000 passenger trips in the past year and use is growing.

Monk’s Cross is proving the most popular site, averaging more than 400 journeys a week during the new periods. Service 7 to the Designer Outlet is busiest in the morning and most evening trips are on Service 3 to Askham Bar.

Stephen Moyle, General Manager of First Bus in York, said:

“These are stellar results and recognise the effort our team makes every day to deliver reliable journeys, and the investment we continue to make in the network.”

The simplicity of buying a ticket received almost total approval (97%), 95 per cent said they would recommend a friend to use the Park and Ride and 87 per cent agreed drivers are helpful, with customers who gave them an ‘excellent’ score increasing by seven per cent from two years ago.

Cllr Kate Ravilious, Executive Member for Transport at City of York Council, said:

“We’re proud that York’s Park and Ride network is the biggest in the UK and continues to see excellent growth and feedback from passengers.

“The Park and Ride supports residents from York and beyond to get to work, college, volunteering, shopping and to enjoy everything that York has to offer.  Using the bus is such an important way to help reduce congestion. For example, it only takes 100 cars to fill the length of Nunnery Lane so every trip on the Park and Ride reduces traffic and is playing a really important role for the whole city.”

Funding for the increased hours of operation was secured by City of York Council from the York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority.

David Skaith, the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said: “York’s Park and Ride is a vital gateway for residents travelling from across the county every day and helps visitors get into the city much more smoothly. 

“We’ve funded extended operating hours to give people a genuine, reliable alternative to the car earlier in the morning and later at night.  

“Seeing passenger confidence hit an all-time high shows that when we put passengers first with cleaner, more affordable transport, people choose the bus.” 

Park and Ride is booming

The Park and Ride is enjoying a boom year overall. Passenger use is currently showing growth of almost nine per cent on last year. August saw 398,000 trips, the highest since a pre-Covid record in 2019.

The average journey times for trips from each P&R site to the first city centre stop are:

• Poppleton Bar – Clifford Street: 20 minutes
• Rawcliffe Bar – Theatre Royal/Museum Street: 20 minutes
• Monks Cross – Stonebow: 9 minutes
• Grimston Bar – Piccadilly: 17 minutes
• Designer Outlet – Clifford Street: 16 minutes
• Askham Bar – Tower Street: 18 minutes

Stephen Moyle added: “We work closely with City of York Council’s transport team to review frequencies, fares and other improvements. It is clear that customers are loving the service and we will do all we can to keep their appreciation and win over new users.

“This summer we introduced the first barista-style coffee service on the network, at Askham Bar; a great example of the ways we are looking to enhance the experience for customers.

“We firmly believe there is good opportunity to grow our commuter customers and encourage more people to think of leaving their car on the outskirts of the city. In doing so, this helps reduce carbon emissions in the city and create a better environment for everyone.”

Picture captions: 

First Bus York 1,2,3 & 4: Cllr Ravilious with Stephen Moyle (right) and members of the First Bus team at the Poppleton Bar site celebrate the high scoring Park and Ride service and extended hours success.

First Bus York 5: Cllr Ravilious with Stephen Moyle (left) and members of the First Bus team at the Poppleton Bar site celebrate the high scoring Park and Ride service and extended hours success.

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