Park and Ride: number of routes doubled – free parking & shuttle service to city centre

The first Park and Ride facilities opened a few weeks ago to reduce the number of cars entering the city centre. In order to achieve this goal, Limassol Mayor, Mr Nicos Nicolaides, announced at a press conference held in the presence of the CEO of the Limassol Passenger Transport Company (EMEL) that people can now use both parking and shuttle services free of charge.

The Mayor also announced that the number of routes has doubled (41 routes in total) and that the Municipality is planning to establish two Park and Ride facilities (in addition to the first one located west of V. Ipirou str.) at the east and west of the city centre.

This, as he stated, is carried out in order to improve bus transit experience through reliable and easy to use services and to ensure coverage across Limassol and free access to the city centre for employees and students.

Mr Nicolaides said that he is optimistic about the said Park and Ride system, stressing that this service fulfils all requirements to be crowned with success. He continued citing a number of factors advocating for public transport and stating that the new service is considered an important measure to reduce traffic congestion in the city centre. The use of minibuses, he reiterated, can significantly reduce traffic jams and citizens, employees, retirees and students should be encouraged to use them. He estimated that if incentive parking (P+R) succeeds, it can become a powerful tool for traffic congestion relief since the city centre is now inundated by hundreds of cars on a daily basis in search of a parking spot.

Finally, the Mayor thanked the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Yiannis Karousos, for accepting the Municipality’s request to offer the shuttle service for free.

Finally, the CEO of EMEL, Mr Yiorgos Kyriakou, presented the two shuttle bus routes and stated that his company is ready, at any time and depending on the needs that may arise, to extend these routes. He also stated that this is a project that needs time to mature and that he is optimistic that the service will be embraced by both employees and students.