Passengers will also benefit from ‘more convenient’ stops in the city centre, operator says, thanks to a revised route
Nottingham City Transport (NCT) will serve the Queens Drive Park & Ride site with its Navy 49 service from 23 June 2019.
The existing diesel buses on the route will be replaced by a £1.6m investment in brand new ADL Enviro400CBG City biogas buses.
The buses, which meet the latest Euro VI emissions standards, will provide a 15-minute Monday to Saturday daytime service between Queens Drive Park & Ride, Nottingham Station and the City Centre.
The new route will be accompanied by new stops, and NCT will operate the Park & Ride service by diverting its existing Navy 49 bus into the Park & Ride site.
NCT will additionally be operating the 49 Park & Ride service on a purely commercial basis, which reduces costs for Nottingham City Council, who is making changes to its tendered Lin bus network due to budgetary pressures.
The full range of NCT day tickets, Easyrider and mobile tickets will now be accepted. Robin Hood Pay as You Go and Season tickets will continue to be accepted, and those with concessionary cards, will be able to travel from the Park & Ride site again too.
David Astill, NCT Commercial and Operations Director said: “We are excited to be introducing brand new bio-gas buses onto this popular Park & Ride service and are confident they will be well received by customers.
“As Nottingham’s principal public transport provider we are pleased to reinstate our range of discounted city-wide ticketing options for Queen’s Drive Park & Ride customers.
“We have a special role as the city’s municipal bus company, and are proud to have devised a solution in partnership with the City Council that enables our shareholder in these difficult times, to save the considerable subsidy that was necessary to sustain the contracted service provided to date. It is a win-win scenario for the people of Nottingham.”
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: “We’re looking forward to seeing even more cleaner biogas buses replacing diesels on our roads as NCT take over the running of this popular route, freeing up our electric Centrelink buses for use elsewhere.
“They will be replaced by NCT buses that are already passing the Park & Ride site. This will have dual benefits in improving air quality along the route and saving the council money at a time when significant budget savings are required.”
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