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A new Park and Ride service is due to open at Blackpool Airport over the summer weekends, to help meet the demand of an anticipated surge of staycation visitors to the resort.
The Park and Ride facility will be located at the airport’s former P2 overspill car park at Squires Gate Lane, starting from Saturday 31 July and running for 8 weeks to Sunday 19September. There will be designated disabled parking close to the bus stop which will be clearly signposted.
The weekend only service (Saturdays and Sundays including August Bank Holiday Monday), operated by a partnership between Blackpool Transport and Blackpool Council, will be open from 8am to 8pm, with a shuttle bus service running every 15 minutes from the airport bus stop at Squires Gate Lane.
Route outbound: Squires Gate Lane → St Anne’s Road → Central Drive → New Bonny Street
Route inbound: NewBonny Street → Central Drive → St Anne’s Road → Squires Gate Lane
Tickets will be £15 per vehicle which includes all day parking and unlimited use of Blackpool Transport buses and trams. Tickets will be available through the Blackpool Transport mobile app BPL Transport (www.blackpooltransport.com) which is free to download on Apple or android phones, or available to purchase on the shuttle bus service.
James Carney, Finance and Commercial Director at Blackpool Transport says, “Giving visitors the option to park up their car and enjoy everything Blackpool has to offer by bus or tram is a great way to ease both congestion and the environmental impact of private cars. We are looking forward to welcoming visitors into the resort and onto our frequent bus and tram services. By downloading our mobile app, people can use the easily accessible journey planner to help them plan their day out in Blackpool. All buses have ramps and information features to help families and disabled customers use Blackpool’s services. Come on, give it a try!”
Cllr Neal Brookes, Cabinet Member for Enforcement, Public Safety, Highways and Transport said, “Over the May Bank Holiday weekend the town centre was gridlocked by a high volume of day trippers and every car park was full. With the weather forecast looking good (at the moment!) and overseas holidays still out of reach for many this summer, we are expecting a record number of visitors and want to make sure the resort is ready to cope with the high volume of cars and there’s parking for everyone. By using the former airport car park at peak times we are can offer up to 700 more car parking spaces for our visitors.”