Park and ride - perfect for Games

29 May 2002

Eight thousand park-and-ride spaces will be used to help ferry passengers to the Commonwealth Games venues in a bid to ease traffic congestion.

A fleet of First buses to ferry spectators to Games

Transport bosses announced the plans as they unveiled their strategy for the sporting spectacular.

There will be no parking at the main sporting venues.

The park and ride sites will be at Heaton Park, Manchester United's Old Trafford ground and Lancashire County Cricket Club.

The parking fees will include a bus or tram return ticket to the city centre or to the City of Manchester stadium and surrounding venues.

An additional 9,000 spaces will be at six locations near the stadium for park-and-walk schemes and there will be spaces for bicycles.

Fifty buses will be used to take spectators free from Piccadilly and Victoria train stations on a frequent shuttle service.

The public transport operator First will use 95 buses to transport the 10,000 athletes, officials and media around the sporting venues.

First will also be running 150 extra train services together with late night specials when events are scheduled to finish later than the normal last trains.

Manchester's free city centre bus service, Centreline, has already doubled its service in preparation for the Games.

Chris Mulligan, director general of Greater Manchester Public Transport Executive and chair of the Games transport steering committee, said: "Good information about public transport is essential and we're putting in a network of electronic information points as well as extending the hours and facilities at our existing information outlets like the phone inquiry line, Travelshops and website. We've been working to minimise disruption but people will have to plan their journeys carefully."

Further information is available from our park and ride section