Best and Worst Park and Ride schemes

[Red Onion]

That's a new one on me

It certainly does the job and they’ve invested well in it. Hopefully passenger numbers return to pre pandemic levels

 

[Welshman]

Chester's park and ride seems quite good on the occasions I've used it, although I've only used the Upton Road site to the north of the city. The other two sites are Wrexham Road to the south and Boughton Heath to the east. Operated by Stagecoach with a fleet of 12 dedicated E200MMC's (26050-26061) in a special livery.

HTH

I have always found Chester's good - clean buses with friendly drivers, indoor seated waiting areas and frequent services, although the current roadworks in the city centre seem to be causing problems with timekeeping.

There also used to be a site at Sealand Rd, which was very useful for me personally, but which seems to have been suspended recently, meaning I now have to go further round the ring road to the Wrexham Rd site, but its still worth it.

 

[tbtc]

There's two types of P&R - the "easy" ones where you have a town/city with insufficient central parking and a sufficient affluent people who'll pay for a good quality service (e.g. driving and parking in central Durham/ York/ Cambridge/ Chester/ Oxford wouldn't be easy or cheap) and the "hard" ones where you have a city centre with lots of multi-story car parks and various unsurfaced car parks on the fringes of the city centre charging just a couple of quid a day to park on a bit of rough ground that'll one day get built on, but in the meantime exists as a bit of a "no questions asked" operation

I've used some great ones and some less so (where we'd have been just as good parking in a random suburban street and boarding the first bus into the town/city centre)

Sheffield has a few (which I've not used) - the worst of which is probably the one near the Nunnery tram depot - it's situated right by the main route into the city - Sheffield Parkway - the A57 - but the road layout means that drivers heading into Sheffield effectively have to drive all the way to the Inner Ring Road/ Park Square to double back and use the P&R since there's no junction from the westbound A57 - and if you're going to drive all the way to the Inner Ring Road/ Park Square then you might as well park in the city centre! The P&Rs (Malin Bridge, Middlewood, Meadowhall/ Nunnery) have an "all day" service since they are located by the tram - so you don't have to worry about getting home. There's not been any dedicated P&R bus services in Sheffield, since the 505 from Millhouses Tesco to the City Centre/ University was replaced by reorganising regular services

Doncaster had the 638 (named because it linked a P&R on the A638 to the town centre and on to a P&R on the other side of town on the A638, with the regular bus services diverting into the P&R at other times, so there was still a reasonable service) - since scrapped - a memory of the days when PTEs had a lot of money for new schemes (and town centres were busy enough to warrant improving traffic levels)

I think the best I've used was in Oxford - very efficient, modern Stagecoach buses, well advertised etc - I think it was the only one where there was a staggered pricing system based on additional car passengers (some places charge "per car" like a car park with the bus ride being essentially free - some charge "per passenger" like a bus service with the car parking being essentially free, but Oxford was the only one I remember where there was a mix of two - not a criticism, just an observation)

There's a definite "sweet spot" for P&Rs - if it's too close to the city centre then people have already had to deal with inner city congestion and won't want to wait around five/ten minutes for a bus that does the last mile, but a P&R too far out and people won't want to sit on a bus for a long journey

Derby's P&R is terrible.
There are two sites: Meteor Centre and Pride Park. The Meteor Centre is a retail park so there is no dedicated car park and now there is no longer a P&R service to the site (though I don't think anyone used it). Instead trentbarton's H1 stops on the main road every 10 mins

I've a memory of using that, with an ancient Notts & Derby double decker eventually turning up - I don't know if it was the regular vehicle or was a cast-off from a school run but generally the Pay & Ride services in other towns/cities are the newest vehicles so it was a surprise to get something so old (but it may have been an emergency allocation!)

Nottingham used to have a dedicated fleet of electric buses for two park and ride sites, one near Clifton and the other near Colwick. Now they are merely stops on the 49 and 50 services ran by NCT with biogas deckers.
I suppose passengers would rather use the tram park and ride as they are closer to the M1

Phoenix Park has always worked well for me when heading to Nottingham - just a shame that the tram frequency couldn't keep up with demand at times

 

[Redmike]

There is a large park and ride facility at Hazel Grove for the frequent 192 into Stockport and Manchester but there is little in the way of bus priority and no express buses so the car park is nearly empty.

 

[ChrisC]

Interesting. Phoenix Park pre pandemic was extremely busy and really needed the extra space, but this probably isn’t going to happen anymore

For Nottingham, Hucknall is the one which really needs more capacity. Pre covid it would often be completely full and overflowing well before 9am. Only problem is there isn’t really any space to any more parking. If only that small retail park with only 3 shops hadn’t been built by the car park entrance.

 

[derbybusdepot]

The Meteor centre park and ride in Derby was a commercial route, but has now been withdrawn, passengers now directed to the H1 service on the main road which runs every 10 minutes.

The other park and ride in Derby is the Pride Park and Ride, as as mentioned earlier in the thread must be one of the worst. Arriva P&R and the F1 service both serve the site, but it closes at 1pm on Saturdays if there is a home match at Derby! This has been the case since it opened in 1997?

 

[bluenoxid]

Leeds - Elland Road and Temple Green did really well and both have been expanded. Developments in the city centre are cutting the amount of parking available within walking distance of the city centre.

Leeds are looking to introduce at least one more in the north/north west of the city but I don’t know if falling commuter numbers will have had an impact on the economics.

Personally, I believe that a lot of it is about the offer. Access for the bus needs to be good, possibly even dedicated.

City bus stops need to be clearly marked

The price needs to be reasonable and account for the differing vehicle loads (personally, I would charge per car rather than the bus ride and there are ways to achieve that with sensible group ticketing)

 

[T646863]

There's two types of P&R - the "easy" ones where you have a town/city with insufficient central parking and a sufficient affluent people who'll pay for a good quality service (e.g. driving and parking in central Durham/ York/ Cambridge/ Chester/ Oxford wouldn't be easy or cheap) and the "hard" ones where you have a city centre with lots of multi-story car parks and various unsurfaced car parks on the fringes of the city centre charging just a couple of quid a day to park on a bit of rough ground that'll one day get built on, but in the meantime exists as a bit of a "no questions asked" operation

I've used some great ones and some less so (where we'd have been just as good parking in a random suburban street and boarding the first bus into the town/city centre)

Sheffield has a few (which I've not used) - the worst of which is probably the one near the Nunnery tram depot - it's situated right by the main route into the city - Sheffield Parkway - the A57 - but the road layout means that drivers heading into Sheffield effectively have to drive all the way to the Inner Ring Road/ Park Square to double back and use the P&R since there's no junction from the westbound A57 - and if you're going to drive all the way to the Inner Ring Road/ Park Square then you might as well park in the city centre! The P&Rs (Malin Bridge, Middlewood, Meadowhall/ Nunnery) have an "all day" service since they are located by the tram - so you don't have to worry about getting home. There's not been any dedicated P&R bus services in Sheffield, since the 505 from Millhouses Tesco to the City Centre/ University was replaced by reorganising regular services

Doncaster had the 638 (named because it linked a P&R on the A638 to the town centre and on to a P&R on the other side of town on the A638, with the regular bus services diverting into the P&R at other times, so there was still a reasonable service) - since scrapped - a memory of the days when PTEs had a lot of money for new schemes (and town centres were busy enough to warrant improving traffic levels)

I think the best I've used was in Oxford - very efficient, modern Stagecoach buses, well advertised etc - I think it was the only one where there was a staggered pricing system based on additional car passengers (some places charge "per car" like a car park with the bus ride being essentially free - some charge "per passenger" like a bus service with the car parking being essentially free, but Oxford was the only one I remember where there was a mix of two - not a criticism, just an observation)

There's a definite "sweet spot" for P&Rs - if it's too close to the city centre then people have already had to deal with inner city congestion and won't want to wait around five/ten minutes for a bus that does the last mile, but a P&R too far out and people won't want to sit on a bus for a long journey



I've a memory of using that, with an ancient Notts & Derby double decker eventually turning up - I don't know if it was the regular vehicle or was a cast-off from a school run but generally the Pay & Ride services in other towns/cities are the newest vehicles so it was a surprise to get something so old (but it may have been an emergency allocation!)



Phoenix Park has always worked well for me when heading to Nottingham - just a shame that the tram frequency couldn't keep up with demand at times

Oxford's dedicated P&R services are run by Oxford Bus Company, save that from 2/1/22, the Oxford Parkway site is only served by the Stagecoach Woodstock service. For most patrons it is £2 for car parking and £2.80 return fare per person on the bus.

 

[nw12398]

I would say Southampton is poor in that it inexplicably doesn't exist - suburb-to-centre buses are very good (e.g. the Unilink U1C, and a P&R service could take a more direct route), space is limited in the city yet so much of it is allocated to car parks, and air pollution levels are shockingly bad.

A bad one that does exist is the Weymouth P&R. It was never successful but it is pretty much forgotten about now, and as far as I can tell users now have to walk to a nearby bus stop rather than the P&R having dedicated stops. When it first opened it had a service to Dorchester which made financial sense for Weymouth residents to use (i.e. in many cases cheaper than Dorchester parking) but this is long gone.

 

[Llandudno]

There is a large park and ride facility at Hazel Grove for the frequent 192 into Stockport and Manchester but there is little in the way of bus priority and no express buses so the car park is nearly empty.

Yes, this is a huge site but I don’t think I have seen more than 20 cars in it every time I have passed it by car or on the train above it!

The 192 does run every 3-5 minutes but takes best part of an hour to get to Manchester!

 

[43055]

I've a memory of using that, with an ancient Notts & Derby double decker eventually turning up - I don't know if it was the regular vehicle or was a cast-off from a school run but generally the Pay & Ride services in other towns/cities are the newest vehicles so it was a surprise to get something so old (but it may have been an emergency allocation!)

I think just about anything was put out on the D1. If it was a weekday then the decker could of well done a school run in the morning or afternoon.

 

[Goldfish62]

I've always found Truro P&R to be very good and is still being well-used despite Covid. Nice quality Citaros as well.

Particularly useful is that the fare (£2 per day) is cheaper than an hour's parking at the Royal Cornwall Hospital where parking is in short supply. The Langarth P&R site is less than 10 min from the hospital along almost continuous bus lanes.

 

[Man of Kent]

I would charge per car rather than the bus ride and there are ways to achieve that with sensible group ticketing

If you pay only for the bus ride, it is tax free (to be absolutely accurate, zero-rated). if you pay for parking, it incurs VAT. It gets particularly complicated if the charge covers both, which is probably why the Oxford scheme described in Post 38 charges the way it does.

 

[Edirim]

Sheriff Hall Park and ride near Edinburgh

Bad - wrong side of the roundabout to make an impact, once you get across sheriff Hall there is no insentive to park up.

Good - acts as overflow car park for the hospital. Should really be pushed more though to aid the hospital overcrowding problem.

 

[RuddA]

As well as buses to the city centre, one Norwich P&R site is used for the hospital and university. Students and staff appear to have free travel. Not sure how well it is used now, but pre-covid the bus was packed leaving the hospital.

 

[bluenoxid]

If you pay only for the bus ride, it is tax free (to be absolutely accurate, zero-rated). if you pay for parking, it incurs VAT. It gets particularly complicated if the charge covers both, which is probably why the Oxford scheme described in Post 38 charges the way it does.

I had not picked up on that. Thank you.

 

[darloscott]

I’ve used the Durham one but it was during Lumiere and the Solo’s were getting rather overwhelmed during the day. The frequency still being reduced didn’t help but it was proving popular even in November.
One not mentioned yet is the summer only operation in Whitby which proves very popular - so much so that it now runs with double deckers all summer.

 

[PeterC]

Oxford's dedicated P&R services are run by Oxford Bus Company, save that from 2/1/22, the Oxford Parkway site is only served by the Stagecoach Woodstock service. For most patrons it is £2 for car parking and £2.80 return fare per person on the bus.

Stagecoach run the car park to hospital services. The dedicated vehicles used by COMS are very comfortable although frequencies have been reduced, the 400 is now 4bph rather than 5. In the evenings the airport coaches can be used to Thornhill but this isn't publicised anywhere now (I assume that this hasn't changed since my pre-covid phone enquiry)

 

[scosutsut]

Ferrytoll Park & Ride nestled between Inverkeithing and the Forth Road Bridges traditionally did well, to the point it needed an extension. It's served well by Stagecoach Express routes into Edinburgh, they now have the added benefit of having the older Forth Bridge to themselves and bus lanes on much of the far side giving them the ability to challenge driving times to the city.

 

[py_megapixel]

There is a large park and ride facility at Hazel Grove for the frequent 192 into Stockport and Manchester but there is little in the way of bus priority and no express buses so the car park is nearly empty.

The 192 does run every 3-5 minutes but takes best part of an hour to get to Manchester!

Yes, and of course Hazel Grove has another P&R facility at the railway station, where the fares are similar to the bus and the journey takes less than half as long.

 

[Busaholic]

I've always found Truro P&R to be very good and is still being well-used despite Covid. Nice quality Citaros as well.

Particularly useful is that the fare (£2 per day) is cheaper than an hour's parking at the Royal Cornwall Hospital where parking is in short supply. The Langarth P&R site is less than 10 min from the hospital along almost continuous bus lanes.

There are regular 'shorts' to the RCH from Langarth as well as the citybound buses. The newer P&R next to Waitrose on the St Austell road seems to get little usage outside the peak hours, and not much even then ime.

 

[Simon75]

The one park and ride I've used in Shrewsbury, Harlescott (there are 3)
It's on a retail park with bus lay-by in one corner and the Arriva garage a few hundred feet away.
They use town centre stops, not the bus station. £2 return, £1 return English bus passes

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Having started this thread, I thought I'd see how it went etc. It was indeed inspired by stumbling over the Harlescott one in Shrewsbury (as mentioned by @Simon75 ) and thinking what a desolate place it was, being tucked away behind a large Tesco and within a larger retail and industrial area. There's a small outbuilding (toilets, storage?) but the waiting facilities are a single bus shelter in a layby.

The best schemes to my mind combine the following:

• Good location so that car drivers aren't dissuaded from diverting and parking up so easy access from major arterial routes
• Good signage and overall, good marketing on approaches to P&R, at the site, and also in the town/city centre together with well branded vehicles
• Somewhere half-decent to actually wait for the bus - you'd hope there's a bus at the stop waiting but if it isn't, a small dry, warm building with toilets is preferable - good examples are Bristol and Salisbury
• A reasonable headway that covers the core 0700-1900 period at least
• Modern, warm vehicles that are likely to attract car users - preferably with wifi and USBs so people can do things they couldn't/shouldn't do in the car
• Bus priority so that buses can easily exit the site and then into the town/city more easily that the car and remove some of the time advantages of a single mode car journey - this is one of the things that adversely affects the Salisbury ones in that vehicles will exit and, especially on the Petersfinger one, just get stuck in the same traffic
• A simple price proposition that doesn't undermine local bus services unduly; possibly free parking and charging by car for the bus travel?
• It may also be advantageous to have local services also serve the site; if you can also have it near a rail station, so much the better

Best schemes I've experienced have been the York, Bristol and Salisbury ones. Bath is also decent.

The worst... there was some sort of affair in Falmouth (with Fal River??) that was a closed contract operation. Just an open yard by the estuary IIRC, and the actual bus operation was done by First Kernow. Being a closed contract, they could use step entry vehicles and it was regularly operated by a former Yorkshire Rider Olympian (very scabby) that was 24 years old!

Still, better than Swindon and Worcester who both had schemes that are now very much in the past (note: I think Swindon still has a semblance of something)

 

[Goldfish62]

Having started this thread, I thought I'd see how it went etc. It was indeed inspired by stumbling over the Harlescott one in Shrewsbury (as mentioned by @Simon75 ) and thinking what a desolate place it was, being tucked away behind a large Tesco and within a larger retail and industrial area. There's a small outbuilding (toilets, storage?) but the waiting facilities are a single bus shelter in a layby.

The best schemes to my mind combine the following:

• Good location so that car drivers aren't dissuaded from diverting and parking up so easy access from major arterial routes
• Good signage and overall, good marketing on approaches to P&R, at the site, and also in the town/city centre together with well branded vehicles
• Somewhere half-decent to actually wait for the bus - you'd hope there's a bus at the stop waiting but if it isn't, a small dry, warm building with toilets is preferable - good examples are Bristol and Salisbury
• A reasonable headway that covers the core 0700-1900 period at least
• Modern, warm vehicles that are likely to attract car users - preferably with wifi and USBs so people can do things they couldn't/shouldn't do in the car
• Bus priority so that buses can easily exit the site and then into the town/city more easily that the car and remove some of the time advantages of a single mode car journey - this is one of the things that adversely affects the Salisbury ones in that vehicles will exit and, especially on the Petersfinger one, just get stuck in the same traffic
• A simple price proposition that doesn't undermine local bus services unduly; possibly free parking and charging by car for the bus travel?
• It may also be advantageous to have local services also serve the site; if you can also have it near a rail station, so much the better

Best schemes I've experienced have been the York, Bristol and Salisbury ones. Bath is also decent.

The worst... there was some sort of affair in Falmouth (with Fal River??) that was a closed contract operation. Just an open yard by the estuary IIRC, and the actual bus operation was done by First Kernow. Being a closed contract, they could use step entry vehicles and it was regularly operated by a former Yorkshire Rider Olympian (very scabby) that was 24 years old!

Still, better than Swindon and Worcester who both had schemes that are now very much in the past (note: I think Swindon still has a semblance of something)

Next stop audio/visual should also be in there. Especially important for infrequent public transport users.

 

[T646863]

Oxford used to be good when pricing was kept simple - you paid once for parking and bus fare. Then the councils got greedy and decided to charge separately for parking .... Now you have an ANPR system, three different types of self-service machine and just 10 minutes to tap your car registration into the system. It can take 5 minutes to walk from the edge of Thornhill to the terminal building .... In the summer when many visitors converge on Oxford, the scene around the seff-service machines can be one of confusion.

Cambridge has the same ANPR system and the same (Metric) ergonometrically-challenged ticket machines, albeit with the added feature of a video screen. You tap in your registration and then it brings up a video image of your car for you to confirm .... in theory. In practice, it sometimes doesn't.

Swindon - seemed little-used when I was last there. Belongs to the overly-elaborate and costly terminal building school of P&R sites (see also the first few Norwich sites, Cambridge, Essex below).

Chelmsford - Sandon - well used; Chelmer Valley not so much.
Colchester - too far out; little-used with part of the parking area now disused.
All three have architectually-attractive terminal buildings with all mod-cons; toilets, baby-changing room, shower for cyclists, little enquiry office etc.

Canterbury - some are well-used but present council chief wishes to close them all down and increase cycle-lanes, provide electric scooters etc instead.
Maidstone - Arriva have served notice that they are wthdrawing the P&R services in February 2022.

Guildford - well used with decent Stagecoach electric bus service.

~~~

A little wrinkle is whether ENCTS passholders travel free or not. Some councils have decided that under the legislation, "the fare charged by the operator has a special amenity element" and the P&R service can be exempted from the free travel obligation. Guildford for example does this: ENCTS passholders are charged a concessionary £1.50 rate. But Oxford is free (apart from the parking fee).

~~~

Another pricing and ENCTS free travel complication occurs where travel flows are not all one-way; i.e park at site, catch bus into town; then return. For example, the York Monks Cross and Designer Outlet sites have large shopping centres adjacent. Whilst some park at the site, catch bus into city; then return, others travel from the city to P&R site; then return.

 

[47550]

I have always thought it would be great to have a P&R facility at Manchester Airport. It’s right by the M56 so has easy access for the thousands going into Manchester City Centre and clogging up Princess Parkway and has brilliant rail and tram connections already in place, so would ‘only’ need the car park building. There seems to be unused land nearby (though probably designated for something else already).
The problem would be stopping people parking there who were catching a plane..

 

[Flange Squeal]

Has anyone got experience of Reading's pair? The website makes it sound rather complicated, where as simplicity is surely key if trying to attract attention and wanting people to swap from convenience?

It starts off by saying "At each site, there is a nominal parking charge. This is included in the price of some product and tickets. If your ticket does not include parking, you must buy a parking ticket from the bus driver". So straight away, it tells you that you may or may not have to pay a £1 parking fee.

Winnersh Triangle site

It then goes on to say parking is included in most bus tickets, but you must register your car on the ticket machines. Not the ticket machines in the car park though, but the ones by the bus stop. You then buy your single or day return bus ticket from the driver, and presumably if also paying for parking at the same time (having been told your 'product or ticket' doesn't include it), you don't need to go back to your car to display any kind of proof of purchase, as you've previously registered your car on the machine by the bus stop (not the ones in the car park) before you've bought a bus ticket from the driver...

Mereoak site

If using this facility, you have the choice of 'single', 'day return' or 'all day' bus fares (is a day return not valid all day I wonder?), which does not include parking. Presumably you pay that extra £1 to the bus driver (if necessary) and get something to open barriers on the way out, as there's no mention of machines or having to go back to your car to display the ticket the driver sells you.

Here's a copy and paste of the website:

Park and Ride fares​

Fares change 3 January 2022​

There will be a fares change from the above date - click here for details.


We have two main park and ride sites at Winnersh Triangle and Mereoak. You can find all your fares for these buses below.
For timetable and location information on the park and rides themselves, click here.

car parking charges​

At each site, there is a nominal parking charge. This is included in the price of some product and tickets. If your ticket does not include parking, you must buy a parking ticket from the bus driver. These are:

• Winnersh Triangle - £1
• Mereoak - £1

Concessionary pass holders​

If you have a concessionary 'free' bus pass, you can use the buses for free (according to the terms of the local authority that you are travelling in), but you must buy a parking ticket from the driver at the price stated above.

Winnersh Triangle park&ride​

parking​

Parking is included in most bus tickets, but you do need to register your car using the machines by the bus stop (please note, the machines away from the bus stops are for people parking but not using the bus). Pay on the bus - see below for your fares. If your bus ticket does not include your fare, you will need to pay for this on the bus.
The car park at Winnersh Triangle is owned and managed by Wokingham Borough Council, so if you have any questions or issues with the car park, please call their customer care team on 0118 974 6000.
Missed the last bus? Winnersh Triangle tickets and passes are valid on the lion 4/X4 which runs near the park and ride until after 11pm at night.

peak time fares - Monday to Friday before 9.30am​

	single	day return
adult	£3.70	£4.70
Boost (18 & under)	£1.00	£2.00

off-peak fares - Monday to Fridays after 9.30am and all day Saturdays​

	single	day return
adult	£3.00	£4.00
Boost (18 & under)	£1.00	£1.60

Off peak group return - after 9.30am​

Up to five people (maximum of three adults) can travel on one ticket, including parking for one car, for just £7.

2 together p&r - before 9.30am​

Two people travel together and includes parking for one car for just £7.

parksaver multi-trip smartcards - buy online in advance and save​

The parksaver tickets include parking. Parksaver tickets can only be used on park & ride buses - but can be used at both sites.

parksaver 10	10 single trips	£22.00	buy now
parksaver 20	20 single trips	£42.00	buy now
parksaver 40	40 single trips	£82.00	buy now

Bus fares from town to Winnersh Triangle​

If you are coming from Reading to Winnersh Triangle to work or for a meeting, then you will not need to pay for parking.

peak time fares - before 9.30am Monday to Friday​

	single	day return
adult	£2.70	£3.70
Boost (18 & under)	£1.00	£2.00

off peak fares - after 9.30am Monday to Friday and all day Saturday​

	single	day return
adult	£2.00	£3.00
Boost (18 & under)	£1.00	£1.60

Mereoak park and ride fares​

buy from the driver​

	single	day return	all day
adult	£2.50*	£4.50	£5
Boost (18 & under)	£1.50*	£2.20*	£2.70*

*does not include parking​

special offers - include parking​

2 together​

Buy before 9.30am Monday to Friday only. Valid for two people with one car for only £7.

family 5​

Buy after 9.30am Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday just £7. Valid for up to 5 people maximum 3 adults.

buy online in advance and save​

The parksaver tickets include parking - when you scan your smartcard on the bus, the ticket machine will print you a ticket with your QR code on that allows you to exit the site. Parksaver tickets can only be used on park & ride buses - but can be used at both sites.

parksaver 10	10 single trips	£22.00	buy now
parksaver 20	20 single trips	£42.00	buy now
parksaver 40	40 single trips	£82.00	buy now

 

[ichabod05]

The park and ride in Lincoln is hit and miss. Allegedly served every 15 minutes by specific services, but I've waited an hour there for a bus before. When it does run, it's quick and smooth and connects directly to the bus station in the city centre, and it's reasonably priced (£2.60 return, I think), but it's so unreliable to the point of madness. Stagecoach aren't interested in making it any better either. Complaints have fallen on deaf ears, but they'll happily take money from the local BID.

 

[TheSel]

There was another site just north of the town centre by the coast road, at the Fairway, which seems to have been out of use for quite a few years.... here it is on Google maps https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.6611696,-2.9974867,331m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-GB

No - that's still in use - Summer Sundays only.

Link to the relevant section of Sefton Council website (which unfortunately does not make clear that the Sunday provision in Summer only) here - quote from said website below.

Where To Go

Esplanade Park & Ride Car Park, Southport, PR8 1RR
Fairways Park & Ride Car Park, Southport, PR9 0LA

The Esplanade Park and Ride/Car Park is open all year round with a capacity of 1000+ vehicles and operates as follows:

Mon - Sat (7.30am and 7.00pm) £2 all day

Sundays & Bank Holidays (Car Park Only) £5 all day

*****

The Fairways Park & Ride has a capacity of 400 vehicles and operates as follows:

Sundays and Bank Holidays (9.45am and 7.00pm) £2 all day.

Please note that there are no toilet facilities on this car park.

Photo below (mine) showing Cumfybus Optare Versa YJ61JJK leaving the Fairway terminus on Sunday 30 May 2021.

 

[CBlue]

Cambridge has the same ANPR system and the same (Metric) ergonometrically-challenged ticket machines, albeit with the added feature of a video screen. You tap in your registration and then it brings up a video image of your car for you to confirm .... in theory. In practice, it sometimes doesn't.

That hasn't been the case for quite some time - parking is now free again and the machines were switched off in 2019 or thereabouts. The complexity of the machines among some elderly drivers (who also couldn't remember their registration number) certainly did a good job of putting people off using the service, alongside the extra £1 parking fee!