HALBEATH Park and Ride has marked its first anniversary since opening a year ago today.

It opened on 25th November 2013 and Councillor Pat Callaghan, executive spokesperson for environment and transportation, said, “We’re delighted so many people are using Halbeath Park and Ride.

"In its first year, it’s averaging 400 cars per day. This has exceeded all our expectations and compares very favourably with Ferrytoll which averaged 250 during its first year.

“We expect usage figures to continue increasing as Halbeath Park and Ride will support the new Queensferry Crossing, which is due to open in 2016.

“Passenger feedback from the site continues to be very positive, with many commenting on the quality of the facilities.” Halbeath Park and Ride is managed and maintained by Fife Council and through a partnership agreement, staffed by Stagecoach.

At the time of the launch Stagecoach made a number of service changes for Express and local routes to serve the site, as well as investing in brand new coaches for the Fife to Glasgow corridor.

Andrew Jarvis, managing director, Stagecoach East Scotland, said, "We were pleased to further expand our provision of services for the people of Fife with the opening of the new transport interchange last year.

"The number of people using Halbeath Park and Ride so far has been positive and has assisted with capacity issues we had experienced at Ferrytoll last year, however there is still plenty opportunity to encourage people to leave their cars at home.

“As well as offering improved links to Edinburgh and more locally to Dunfermline, Kelty, Kinross and other local communities, the site also provides fast and frequent direct journeys to Glasgow.

"Our services deliver customers straight to the heart of these towns and cities to help them avoid the stress of driving and parking themselves."

Halbeath Park and Ride provides opportunities for car sharing and free parking for more than 1000 vehicles, encouraging the shift to public transport. With regular bus services to Edinburgh, Edinburgh Airport, Glasgow and Dunfermline it really is the ideal location to park and catch a bus.

For more information about the facility, the bus services available and downloadable timetables go to www.halbeath.org