A sustainable transport system for Snowdonia has taken another step forward as car parking fees will go towards providing the best public transport links.
From 1 April 2010, motorists will have to pay to park at Pen-y-gwryd as part of the Snowdonia Green Key initiative.
The charges will be £2 for half a day and £4 for the whole day. Money raised will go towards providing the Sherpa bus service, which runs between Pen-y-pass and Pen-y-gwryd every half hour giving access to the mountain foot paths.
Members of the Green Key Partnership have been working towards limiting the numbers of cars visiting the Snowdonia area – during busy periods of the tourist season up to 300 cars have been parked along the grass verges at Pen-y-gwryd. This can cause congestion problems and road safety issues.
Steps have been taken to regulate how and where visitors park in the area, including encouraging people to park in nearby villages and use the bus service.
Bus fairs in this area have also been cut, encouraging more visitors to use public transport. Since 28 March, people can travel on Sherpa buses between Llanberis, Nant Peris, Pen-y-pass, Capel Curig, Betws-y-Coed and Bethesda for only £1. This promotion is to run through the year on buses S1, S2 and S6.
Megan Hughes, Project Officer for the Snowdonia Green Key, said: “I would encourage everyone who visits Eryri to leave their car and use public transport and this new development is an incentive to do just that.
“Many people are concerned about their carbon footprint, and using public transport makes sense when trying to reduce how many cars use the lanes of Snowdonia.
“This is an ideal way of making the most of the great outdoors as the buses can carry bikes and some journeys are operated by an open topped bus.”
Snowdonia Green Key is a Partnership between Gwynedd Council, Conwy Borough Council, Countryside Council for Wales, Snowdonia National Park Authority, the Welsh Assembly’s Department for Enterprise and Transport and Visit Wales.
The aim of the Snowdonia Green Key is to successfully develop the countryside in a sustainable way, with improved economic returns for local businesses, and an improved, flexible public transport system for all.
For a full bus time table visit Gwynedd Council’s website www.gwynedd.gov.uk
