MORE than half the buses serving Weymouth’s new park and ride scheme are running with no passengers aboard.

Many more have only a handful aboard the ambitious project designed to get more people to leave their cars out of town.

But it is claimed the service, based at Mount Pleasant, could be the key to regenerating the town centre if more people use it.

The 1,000-space park and ride facility, run and subsidised by Dorset County Council at a cost of up to £300,000 a year, has split opinion.

An Echo investigation revealed that at certain times more than half the buses left the park and ride site empty.

Of 12 buses monitored on a Friday morning and afternoon, seven had no passengers and the remaining five carried just 16 passengers in total from the park and ride site to the Pavilion.

President of Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce Anna-Maria Geare said it was a “great shame” that the service is not used by more people.

Mrs Geare said: “My observation is that it’s not as widely used as one would hope. It’s a cheap way to travel and a pleasant way to get to town.

“Park and ride services have been used to great effect in other towns, including Dorchester. I feel quite sorry when people do not use it here. It’s a great shame.”

Buses run every 15 minutes to Weymouth town centre, stopping at the seafront and the Pavilion.

There is a separate service to Dorchester town centre running Monday to Friday.

Motorists pay £1.50 per car to park all day, which includes the cost of a return bus ticket to the town for up to seven people.

The price increases to £2.50 from May 26 to July 20 and increases again to £3.50 from July 21 to September 2.

But during the Olympics, from July 27 to August 13, the site will be for the sole use of spectators with a ticket to watch the sailing events from the Nothe Gardens.

Mrs Geare added: “When you consider the high parking charges in town I don’t think it’s as popular as it should be, perhaps due to people’s lack of awareness.”

But others were less optimistic about the service.

Michel Hooper-Immins, a former secretary of Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce, and frequent bus user, said: “I often see the park and ride bus flying past and it’s almost always empty.

“It must be losing a bomb, it can’t be economic.”

He described the park and ride as “a good resource” but added: “A private business would not run a service that no one was using.”

The Echo investigation monitored park and ride bus users for a period of three hours during the middle of the day. Several buses were empty of passengers and the Mount Pleasant car park, from where buses run to Dorchester and Weymouth, had as few as 63 cars.

A bus driver, who did not wish to be named, said: “A few commuters use the service, but the majority of users, about 70 per cent on a normal day, go to Dorchester.

“When it’s sunny it’s a more even split between the two towns.”

This shows a change in trends since the park and ride was opened in July last year, when in the first seven weeks of use, buses took 19,133 passengers to Weymouth, while fewer than 4,000 passengers opted to go to Dorchester.

The driver added: “It has been quiet over the winter, but I expect it to pick up in the summer.”

Mrs Geare said she hoped to see more being done to change perceptions about the service, and develop it.

She said: “There is scope for development. It could be kept open later to encourage all-day visitors, who could stay and have an evening meal in town, or it could be kept open at night and used for people visiting hotels.

“It is difficult to change perceptions but I feel if it was advertised properly and people were encouraged to use it we could end up with a lot more trade in the town.

“That’s what has happened in other places. It could be part of our regeneration.”

n In November, the Dorset Echo reported how park and ride costs are set to triple at temporary sites.

Drivers currently pay £1.50 during winter months and £3.50 in the summer to use the Mount Pleasant park and ride, owned by Dorset County Council, off the Weymouth Relief Road.

But during the Games, the ODA will take control of the site and charge £10 per car, plus a £2.50 booking fee.

Subsidised

A SPOKESWOMAN for Dorset County Council said: “The Mount Pleasant park and ride site is currently subsidised by Dorset County Council whilst it becomes more established with both the visiting tourists and the local visitors and commuters.

“We haven’t yet had our busy summer season as the site has only been open for a few months.

“The original business plan anticipated there being a settling-in period of a couple of years of subsidising the cost of the site as it grows and gains more users.

“We fully anticipate there being considerable growth in use, through the summer and beyond the first few years from the opening of the site, but know that it will grow in popularity as it offers all-day parking offering very good value and a very reliable bus service both in Weymouth and Dorchester.”

The spokeswoman confirmed that the council had an annual budget of £300,000 to subsidise the scheme but would not be able to confirm how much it had cost until it been in operation for the full year.