Car insurance - Tips & Advice - Green driving
Park and ride is the common term used to describe a service that provides specially designated car parking facilities for drivers who can then use public transport such as buses or trains to reach their final destination.
Essentially you drive your car to one of these areas, leave it there while you go to a town or city-based destination – work, school or a public amenity (a leisure facility or shopping area for example) – and then come back the same way to pick up your car at the end of the day. Park and ride facilities do not usually accommodate leaving your car overnight.
What are the benefits?
Park and rides are designed to help reduce congestion in urban areas and on busy commuter roads, help drivers to avoid the hassle and expense of parking in city centres, and to encourage the use of public transport to make our roads greener. With increased environmental awareness and fee-paying congestion zones, park and ride schemes have become more popular and there are more springing up all the time, with increased drop-off stops and faster services.
Are there any drawbacks?
Most people consider park and rides a good thing, but some rural campaigners say that park and ride schemes are shifting traffic problems into the countryside. According to Paul Hamblin, Head of Transport for the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE): ‘Increasingly large areas of countryside are being buried under tarmac in the name of sustainable transport. But in reality, almost every trip relies on using the car at one or both ends. These schemes do not reduce our dependency on the car.’ CPRE want to see better public transport that reaches people’s doors, not simply more park and ride schemes. You can find out more at www.cpre.org.uk.
How can I find a park and ride near me?
Park and ride has substantially improved many people’s journeys into town and made many towns less congested at the same time. If you want to find a service near you, there’s now a National Park and Ride Directory location search database.
Simply choose where you want to go and a link will appear to tell you about park and rides in that area. This can include contact details in case you have more queries, details of public transport services nearby, information about surveillance so that you know your car is safe, and how much it costs – some offer free car parking as long as you take the bus and others will offer discounts, deals and concessions. The website also links this into detailed maps, sat-nav co-ordinates, the weather forecast in the city you want to visit, and more in-depth information about the park and ride specifics, facilities and costs.
Make sure you are insured…
If you use a park and ride service then you want to make sure that your car is safe while it’s there. Check with the facility that there is adequate surveillance set up in the car park area and invest in Direct Line comprehensive car insurance or third party fire & theft cover in case thieves should break in.
Apply for a Direct Line car insurance quote online today – if you’re properly insured you can have complete peace of mind both when you drive your car and leave it parked.
Related information:
Parking safely and securely – is the car park where you leave your car every day Police-approved? Find out how to check this and leave your car secure when it’s parked.
Direct Line’s vandalism promise – if your car is vandalised and you make a claim on your Direct Line car insurance, you will not lose your no claim discount.
Alarms – if your car doesn’t already have an alarm fitted, read our guide for choosing the best option for your vehicle
|
