Park and Ride bus scrapped

AFTER 18 years of servicing the community, the City of Greater Geelong’s Central Geelong Park and Ride shuttle bus service is being discontinued due to it no longer being financially viable.

A recent review found operating costs and reduced passenger numbers (only four per cent occupancy) had left the city with no choice than to cancel the service.

The park and ride service has the capacity to move 1,500 passengers per day, but before its review, was only averaging 73 daily or 1,517 passengers over a monthly period.

The pandemic and a trend towards working from home has been said to have affected patronage, while the fixed cost of the service, regardless of the number of passengers had also had a damaging effect on its longevity.

The city’s director of city planning and economy Gareth Smith said poor usage coupled with a fixed price contract made the service costs per passenger unsustainable.

“We recognise that community members who use the Central Geelong Park and Ride shuttle will be disappointed by the news that the service is ending.

“Like other organisations, the City is facing a challenging economic climate with rising costs, the impacts of inflation and financial uncertainty arising from the pandemic.

“The park and ride is a discretionary service and unfortunately, the spend doesn’t represent value to the broader community, the city or the environment.

“This is not a sustainable commercial and financial position to be in and as a result, we are having to make tough choices as we focus on protecting core services.”

The final shuttles will run in Geelong on May 19.

Communters looking for future travel guidance can head to geelong.link/Central-Geelong-Parking-Options