VISITORS to Leicester are being invited to make the most of the city’s sustainable travel options as they plan their journeys during the festive season.
With additional Park & Ride services in December, the return of the cut-price Family Flexi bus ticket for the school holidays, and free travel around the city centre for everyone, thanks to Leicester’s popular Hop! bus, there are lots of opportunities for greener travel this Christmas that are also good value for money.
Roberts Travel Group, which now operates Park & Ride in Leicester, will be running special services on three Sundays in December, starting this weekend.
Buses will run from Enderby, Meynell’s Gorse and Birstall on December 7, 14 and 21 – making it easy for families and shoppers to spend the day in the city centre, without the hassle of finding a parking place. A group ticket that allows up to five people in one car to travel to the city centre and back costs £6.
Sunday services will operate between 10am and 5pm, with the usual 15-minute frequency. Regular Park & Ride services operate from 7am to 7pm from Monday to Saturday.
There is also a range of bus tickets available through the Leicester Bus Partnership, including the family flexi day ticket, which allows up to two adults and three children to travel all day for just £8 during the school holidays (£11 at other times).
Throughout Leicester’s bus network, single fares are capped at £3 , with ‘tap on, tap off’ technology making payment quick and easy, while ensuring passengers never overpay for their journey.
Once in the city centre, people can travel for free on Leicester Buses’ Hop! shuttle service, which links key locations in a circular route. Stops on the loop include Leicester station, Granby Street (for Leicester Market), the Haymarket bus station (for St Margaret’s bus station), Highcross shopping centre and Jubilee Square.
The distinctive green Hop! buses, branded with frog motifs, feature a quirky ‘ribbit’-effect bell and operate every 10 minutes between 8am and 6pm from Monday to Saturday (excluding bank holidays).
Assistant city mayor for environment and transport Cllr Geoff Whittle said: “Now the Christmas lights are on, the festive season is in full swing in Leicester city centre.
“Bars and restaurants are busy welcoming shoppers and Christmas parties, while the Christmas market has brought a festive atmosphere to Gallowtree Gate. There’s also plenty for families to enjoy, with the Jubilee Square ice rink, the funfair on Humberstone Gate and some brilliant lights in Town Hall Square.
“Leicester has a fantastic range of smaller specialist independent shops, as well as all the big names at Highcross and the Haymarket shopping centre, so you’re sure to find what you’re looking for in Leicester this Christmas, however you choose to travel.”
On Christmas Day (25 December), Boxing Day (26 December) and New Year’s Day (1 January), when both the ice rink and the Giant Wheel in Jubilee Square will be open, no buses will be running. And while Newarke Street car park will be closed on both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, the Haymarket car park will be open as normal, as will the city council’s surface level car parks. Drivers are reminded that charges apply every day, including on Bank Holidays.
Park & Ride services will not run on Christmas Day (25 December), Boxing Day (26 December), Sunday 28 December and New Year’s Day (1 January).
More information about travelling to Leicester city centre can be found at choosehowyoumove.co.uk or by downloading the Choose How You Move journey planner app.
The journey planner provides real-time bus information on routes, timetables, and service updates, and also includes a ‘lit routes’ feature, which suggests well-lit routes for those walking at night.
For full details of all bus services over Christmas and New Year, visit the Leicester Buses website at leicesterbuses.co.uk
For information about what’s on in Leicester this Christmas, go to visitleicester.info/christmas
ends