Free Ironbridge Park and Ride to continue until late October
Telford & Wrekin Council has decided to continue operating the Ironbridge Park and Ride Service for another six weeks. The service has been operating free of charge since July 22 and will now continue until the clocks go back on October 27.
The council has operated the service for free as part of a general awareness raising campaign which has helped increase the use of the new Park and Ride Service, which serves the Ironbridge Gorge and Much Wenlock.
The free service means that visitors to the Gorge do not have to find a parking space, which are in short supply in the Gorge at the best of times and helps families enjoy a low cost day out.
Councillor Arnold England, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Leisure & Well-being, said: “This will also help to boost local businesses in the Gorge by encouraging more spending in local shops and businesses as people save on parking charges.
“The council is supporting efforts to ensure the Gorge is one of the greenest World Heritage Sites and this can only help achieve that aim.”
The 250 space park and ride site is located just off the A4169 Ironbridge Bypass and is signed from all major approach roads to the Gorge.
The service operates every 12 minutes throughout the school holidays with the first bus at 9am. It takes only five minutes to get to the Museum of Iron, providing a convenient way to access and move around the Gorge without the need to find a parking place.
The last bus back to the Park and Ride leaving the Museum of the Gorge at 5.48pm.
The Park and Ride bus connects with the Gorge Connect which takes visitors around the World Heritage Site including all the Ironbridge Gorge Museums.
The Park and Ride has been funded by the Department for Transport as part of the Local Sustainable Travel Fund to support tourism economy in the Ironbridge Gorge. It is also part of Telford & Wrekin Council’s sustainable transport programme Travel Telford.
A further service funded by Shropshire Council operates hourly to picturesque Much Wenlock, the birthplace of the Modern Olympic Movement.
