City of York Council's Park and Ride service has been given a huge thumbs-up by passengers, with 86 per cent rating the service as good or excellent.

A customer satisfaction survey carried out in December 2006 gathered the views of more than 2,500 passengers. Just one per cent of respondents said that the service is poor or very poor.

The survey showed that 60 per cent of respondents use the service because it is cheaper than the alternative and that 32 per cent of weekday Park and Ride users live within the City of York Council area.

It also showed that 85 per cent of respondents had parked at a Park and Ride site, with the rest walking (ten per cent), cycling (one per cent), getting dropped off (2 per cent) or arriving by bus (2 per cent).

The primary reason that 49 per cent of weekday passengers were using the service was to travel to the city centre for shopping or leisure activity, although this figure rose to 95 per cent at weekends. Meanwhile, 40 per cent of weekday travellers were using Park and Ride to get to work.

When asked what improvements they required at city centre bus stops, passengers requested real time information (62 per cent); shelters (32 per cent); maps showing routes (31 per cent) and larger waiting areas (31 per cent).

York's Park and Ride service carried more than three million passengers in 2006 and is one of the largest and most successful schemes of its kind in the country. First York has been contracted to provide the service since 1995.

The council's Executive will consider a report on future contract options at its meeting on 27 February.