Published on Tuesday 23 November 2021
Late night Christmas shoppers, residents and visitors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are set to benefit from a whole range of festive travel offers over the next few weeks including free parking on selected days, discounted bus tickets and free bike rides.
It’s all part of BCP Council’s commitment to support local high streets and encourage people to shop locally during the festive period.
The travel offers include free parking on Thursday evenings and at selected times on Saturdays and Sundays from Sunday 28 November in certain car parks, discounted bus tickets on Yellow Buses and Morebus, and even free bike rides on Beryl Bikes to encourage sustainable travel across the conurbation.
The free parking offer is available on the following dates in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Town Centres:
- Thursdays 2, 9, 16 and 23 December, 4pm to 10pm
- Sundays 28 November, 5, 12 and 19 December, 10am to 6pm
Free parking is also being offered in some district car parks including in Boscombe, Southbourne, Westbourne, Winton, Highcliffe, Broadstone, Canford Cliffs and Parkstone on the following dates:
- Saturdays 4, 11 and 18 December, Midday to 6pm.
On Yellow Buses, you can enjoy unlimited evening travel for £3.50 across the whole Yellow Bus network when you purchase a ‘Buster’s Christmas Cracker’ ticket, which can be purchased from drivers after 4:30pm.
Morebus are offering a Christmas Group Dayrider ticket which gives unlimited travel for up to five people for just £5. This ticket is available after 5:30pm on Thursday night during late night shopping and on Sundays in the run up to Christmas, with both bus offers enabling everyone to hop on and off buses and ensure they visit all the essential shopping areas!
Beryl Bikes in partnership with BCP Council are offering free bike rides on the following dates:
- Thursdays 2, 9 16 and 23 December after 5:30pm to support late night shopping
- Sundays 5, 12 & 19 December all day
Two free rides up to 30 minutes can be claimed per person per day, giving residents plenty of time to get to the shops and purchase those festive gifts while supporting the local high street.
Councillor Mike Greene, Portfolio Holder for Sustainability and Transport, BCP Council commented:
"The last 20 months have been difficult time for everyone, so anything that saves people money is a good thing and I’m delighted that we have secured a range of travel offers for all our residents and visitors to take advantage of. This all helps support local businesses which are at the heart of our communities, so I encourage people to come into town and make the most of these festive travel offers."
Simon Newport, Commercial Director of Yellow Busessaid, "We are very keen to support Christmas Shopping and Christmas Tree Wonderland in Bournemouth. We would love people to use our buses to get in and out of town, as a result, we have discounted our day ticket to £3.50 after 4:30 pm as a 'Christmas Cracker' ticket. This ticket not only allows unlimited travel for Yellow Buses services but also on our night buses that operate Friday and Saturday nights."
"Yellow Coaches are also working with partners Golden Tours to run a daily open top Christmas lights tour, which is a great way to see the lights around the town."
Nikki Honer, Head of Communications for more bus added:
"It is important we support our local high streets throughout theChristmas period, we’ve been asking people to ‘think bus’ for local journeys for sometime now. Climate change affects us all and by shopping and travelling locally its worth reminding people that 1 double decker bus can take 75 cars off the road, helping to ease congestion and improve air quality. As well as the group travel offer, all of our buses accept contactless tap on tap off payments making bus tickets even easier."
Phil Ellis, CEO of Beryl commented:
"We’re delighted to be working with BCP Council on this great initiative and would urge people to take advantage and give our bikes a go; it might just revolutionise the way you travel locally.
"By taking up more sustainable travel options, you’re helping to reduce road congestion while improving air quality and public health."
Additional quotes from our supporters:
Paul Kinvig, Chief Operating Officer for Bournemouth Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID) commented:
"It’s really encouraging to see that there’s not only free parking but also a number of other festive travel offers available, enabling people to come into Bournemouth and enjoy what we’ve got here. We really want to encourage people to come in, especially for the late-night shopping on the Thursday, and take advantage of the free parking and other travel offers and really support the retailers who are here."
Fiona McArthur, Manager of Coastal BID commented:
"Christmas 2021 is very different to Christmas last year. It is great to see BCP Council getting behind our traders and offering free parking and discounted bus & Beryl travel in the lead up to the big day. The Coastal BID are also hosting many exciting Christmas themed events throughout December in all of our areas from Westbourne to Hengistbury Head and we encourage everyone to come along, to visit their local shopping areas and support those traders who work hard all year round to make our destinations remarkable."
Andy Barfield, President, Christchurch Chamber of Trade and Commerce commented:
"Businesses have been hugely impacted over the last year and a half, and we all need to be supporting one another now more than ever. These festive travel offers are very welcome as they will help bring people to Christchurch as well as across the rest of the conurbation, encouraging everyone to shop locally and support our local traders to ensure everyone has a great Christmas."
Jacqui Rock, Lead of Poole BID commented:
"Free parking alongside the other travel offers will make it easier for visitors to park and enjoy visiting Poole High Street, especially given the additional impacts of Covid-19 on the local economy. So, to support our many local and varied traders in the town is a fantastic addition to give our visitors an added incentive to shop locally during this festive season."
This initiative supports BCP Council’s Dynamic Places and Sustainable Environment objectives.