Park and ride scheme criticised

The council wants to update the old park and ride service

Environmentalists have criticised proposals which aim to speed up the public transport network in Sussex.

Brighton and Hove City Council has announced plans to introduce more buses and park and ride sites in the city in an attempt to reduce congestion.

But Friends of the Earth said the scheme would not make an impact unless cycle and pedestrian facilities were improved as well.

The environmental group said car parks would also have to be shut down.

Humble buses may not be very sexy, but we are keen that this scheme will look and feel very different Gill Mitchell, council spokeswomen

Spokesman Chris Todd said: "Many of the benefits of park and ride are little more than urban myth and have little to do with reality.

"We have got issues about increasing emissions and climate change and none of these issues will be tackled by just focusing on expensive schemes such as a park and ride."

The city already has an old park and ride scheme up and running, but council spokeswoman Gill Mitchell said revamping it would make a difference.

Ms Mitchell said: "Humble buses may not be very sexy, but we are keen that this scheme will look and feel very different to the existing buses on the road."

A successful park and ride scheme in Canterbury, Kent, was used as an example to back up the council's argument.

In its first year in 1991, only 100,000 people used the Canterbury service but by 1997 this had increased to 700,000 and by 2003 over 1,000,000 people used the service.

Brighton and Hove Council will ask the government to help fund the project in August.