New customer facilities have been opened at Seacourt park & ride in Oxford to help welcome people back into the city centre.

It includes toilets, an enclosed waiting area and digital information screens which provide real-time journey information.

The car park capacity has also been increased by 595 spaces taking the number of spaces for vehicles to more than 1,300.

The improvements were made possible thanks to a multi-million pound investment by Oxford City Council.

Read again: Seacourt park and ride extension opens

Seacourt Park & Ride off Botley Road is one of five car parks located on Oxford’s ring road which provide parking and bus journeys into the city centre.

The 400 service operates between Seacourt, Oxford and Thornhill daily. Oxford Bus Company operates all Park & Ride bus services to the City Centre, which are designed to help reduce city centre emissions and congestion.

Oxford Mail:

Phil Southall, Oxford Bus Company managing director, said: “The new facilities are fantastic and will provide a first-class welcome to customers who travel via Seacourt Park & Ride. It brings the facilities and capacity at Seacourt in line with other Park & Ride locations such as Redbridge and Thornhill.  

“It is great news that the facilities were ready on Monday as we all look to build back stronger together. Our thanks go to Oxford City Council for committing to investing in improving the gateway to Oxford.

“The facilities will provide longevity and a better overall service and customer experience. The increased car park capacity will also further help tackle city centre congestion, by improving the strength of the Park & Ride solution.”

The Oxford Bus Company invested £4.5m in the fleet of Park & Ride buses in 2017. Each bus has free Wi-Fi, audio visual next stop information systems, USB and conductive charging points and Euro VI micro-hybrid engines with the cleanest available vehicle emissions standards.

Oxford Mail:

A further £1m was invested in rolling out contactless payment functionality to the fleet to make the boarding experience as frictionless as possible.

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The five Park & Ride locations are Seacourt, Peartree, Oxford Parkway, Thornhill and Redbridge.

The Park & Ride family ticket, costs £6.80 and covers parking for one car plus two adults and three children travelling by bus. Individual single and return tickets are also available.

The car park extension at Seacourt was completed following lengthy delays.

The budget of £3.5m rose to £5.4m.