Deeside Industrial Estate: Council to end shuttle bus service from £2m park and ride due to lack of use

Flintshire Council has decided to end its shuttle bus service from the £2m park and ride facility on Deeside Industrial Estate due to a lack of users.

The service was launched in August 2021 to provide a half-hourly shuttle from the car park to Zone 2 and 3 of the industrial park, operating six days a week.

It was designed to help workers who use the car park and require transportation to their workplaces in these zones

The park and ride was intended to address parking issues around the industrial park while opening up employment opportunities for people in the surrounding areas.

However, the service has not been well-utilised, prompting the decision to pull the plug on the shuttle bus.

The facility which some called a ‘white elephant’ has around 275 parking spaces and is part of the ongoing development of the North East Wales Metro.

Flintshire Council received £988,500 of Welsh Government funding to help buy the site, which was formerly disused highways land.

Additional funding of £1,300,000 was awarded to enable the completion of construction.

Flintshire council pointed out that the parking solution was “originally requested by businesses on the Deeside Industrial Park.”

In January last year, Deeside.com asked – via a Freedom of Information Request – how many cars on average per day and week use the facility. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

In response, Flintshire council said: “No usage data is currently held, as the car park does not have ticket machines to enable this data to be captured.”

Deeside.com had noted on two separate occasions just two vehicles parked at the facility.

Council officials carried out a two-week period of daily monitoring in December and following that it was decided to stop the shuttle bus service.

Notice has been served to the current bus operator, and the last day of service is scheduled for 31 March 2023.

It is understood that the council is planning a replacement service using a pre-bookable taxi operating within the same service area.

However, this has yet to be officially confirmed by the council, and a spokesperson told Deeside.com that full details will be released shortly.