COLCHESTER’S £6.2million park and ride scheme will continue to be free to use for at least another fortnight.

The long-awaited scheme launched on April 13 at Cuckoo Farm, next to the A12 near Colchester United’s football ground.

Essex County Council said passengers could use it for free for the first twoweeks in a bid to encourage people to try it.

But some residents have claimed the buses have been poorly used.

Yesterday, after repeated requests by the Gazette to the council for numbers using it, it still refused to provide them, but said the free trial period would be extended.

Anne Turrell, borough councillor for Mile End and who had campaigned for a park and ride scheme in north Colchester since she was first elected in the Nineties, denied the extension was due to poor usage.

However, she said she had not seen any figures herself.

Mrs Turrell said: “I don’t think that is the case.

“The response people have had to the park and ride has been so positive.

“It is a way of making sure people know it’s there.”

She said she was pleased the free extension meant it tied in with a “Style Destination” week at Lion Walk shopping centre, which runs until Saturday, and offers shoppers the chance of a makeover.

Mrs Turrell said she’d barely had any negative feedback about the park and ride, which costs £3 per person – the same amount charged for the service in Ipswich.

But Peter Kay, secretary of Colchester Bus Users’ Support Group, said: “While it is free, it doesn’t prove anything about what number of people are using it.

“A lot of people are trying it out for a bit of fun.

“The main reason people use park and ride, rather than drive to town centres, is because it is cheaper, rather than to save time.”

Mr Kay also said large projects tended to be slow to take off, adding: “Really you have to wait six months to see if it is going to achieve anything.”

A fleet of five new buses operates from the park and ride, which has spaces for 1,000 cars.

Season tickets and a weekly passes will be announced soon.

An Essex County Council spokesman said: “The free trial period will be continued for a couple of weeks or so to further encourage usage of this exciting new service for Colchester, which in its first two weeks of operation has already established itself as a faster and more convenient transport option than the private car for those accessing Colchester railway station and the town centre.”