Residents across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole will have access to a generous package of travel offers in the run to up to Christmas, in a bid to support local businesses.
Bus passengers will receive an early Christmas present from both Yellow Buses and Morebus in the form of a ticket that permits from two to five people to travel together on any number of journeys in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area for just £5 – a saving of £7 on the normal price.
The discounted tickets, purchased from the driver, will be available throughout the day each Sunday prior to Christmas (6, 13 and 20 December) and from 5.30pm to midnight every Thursday (3, 10 and 17 December). Tickets will be valid only for the operator from whom they are purchased (T&Cs apply)
Meanwhile, BCP Council is offering car users a series of free parking offers across the conurbation: on both Thursday evenings and Sundays in the main town centre car parks, and within other districts on Saturday afternoons. Free parking will be available as follows:
Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch Town Centres:
- Thursdays 3, 10, 17 and 24 December, 4pm to 10pm
- Sundays 6, 13 and 20 December, 10am to 6pm.
District car parks – Boscombe; Southbourne; Westbourne; Winton; Highcliffe; Ashley Road, Poole; Broadstone; Penn Hill, Poole; Canford Cliffs and Ashley Cross:
- Saturdays only, 5, 12 and 19 December, Midday to 6pm.
The free parking days and locations have been chosen following discussions with local business organisations in order to maximise the benefits for both residents and businesses. The specific car parks included in this scheme can be found below and online at www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/latestnews.
To ensure car parks can be used safely, contactless payment methods are available in almost all of these facilities and anyone queuing should stay two metres apart. Face coverings are mandatory in all multi-story car parks.
Initiated by BCP Council, the travel offering complements its recent ‘Rediscover Safely’ campaign, which encourages local residents to make an active choice to shop and spend locally to help Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole’s businesses to thrive. This continues the council’s strategy of creating dynamic places and an innovative, successful economy in a great place to live, learn, work and visit.
Councillor Mike Greene, Portfolio Holder for Transport and Sustainability at BCP Council, said:
“We know how difficult the year has been for local businesses and how hard they’ve worked, with our continued support, to make our high streets Covid-secure. Our high streets are the heart of our community and this shows our commitment to them by offering residents free parking opportunities and, for the first time, a consistent discount from both bus operators to ensure that this year’s Christmas offering has something for everyone, not only for those who drive.”
Nikki Honer of Morebus added: “This has been a challenging year but our team has worked hard, transporting key workers across the region throughout both lockdowns. We’ve also introduced even more stringent cleaning regimes on our buses to make sure customers can travel with us safely. We’re delighted to be offering our customers the chance to travel together at a much discounted rate as part of this excellent initiative.”
David Squire, MD of Yellow Buses said, “We are pleased to support our local communities by offering a discounted group ticket, to allow customers to shop and socialise safely in the run up to Christmas, we would like to reassure our customers that they can continue to travel safely with us and we continue to operate a full bus network across all of our routes”.