I rode a Shropshire park-and-ride bus - now I see why the service is being reviewed

Several bus services supported by Shropshire Council are being reviewed as part of the council's 2026 re-tendering programme, with any changes due to be implemented later this year.

They include services operating across Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Market Drayton, Wem and Ellesmere, as well as a range of inter-urban routes and park-and-ride services. One of the park-and-ride services is Ludlow’s 722, which runs every 30 minutes from the Ludlow Eco Park east of the A49 to the town centre.

It is operated by Minsterley Motors, with a standard single fare of £2. It is £2 return if you leave your car at the eco park and £3.80 return from elsewhere.

For under-16s it is £1.50 single and £2.85 return; it is free for concessionary pass holders.

I’ve been told demand is very low, raising the question as to whether a park-and-ride service is needed in Ludlow. With this in mind, I recently rode the bus to check it out for myself.

Timetable issues

To get an understanding of the issues facing the 722 service, I arranged to meet up with Philip Adams, chair of the Ludlow 21 Sustainable Transport Group. Even trying to decide which bus to take, I soon understood some of the problems people face.

The Traveline website suggested there would be a bus at 11.57am departing the eco park, arriving at the Ludlow Assembly Rooms at 12.09pm.

I therefore asked Mr Adams if he would be happy to meet me at the park shortly beforehand and take the bus. However, he said his timetable (downloadable from the Minsterley Motors website and dated October 27, 2025) did not give a time of 11.57am from the eco park and the next bus scheduled to leave there was the 702 at 12.36pm.

"You are now seeing the sort of problems people must contend with, and this confusion is one reason why passenger numbers are not what they should be," he told me.

I therefore looked at the Minsterley Motors website and noted a 722 bus was due to leave the tourist information centre (TIC) at 1pm, returning there at 1.24pm via the eco park. We agreed to take this bus.

Only people on board

It was on a Tuesday, a non-market day when Ludlow is quieter, and the weather was mixed.

A few buses went past as we waited patiently outside the TIC - but not ours. We checked the times on the bus shelter's timetable, which said it would leave at 1.15pm. I could see what Mr Adams meant about how people get confused with the times, and it's probably one of the reasons passenger numbers are low.

The shelter itself also needed cleaning up, with a lot of grime on the board.

The bus eventually came at 1.21pm, but didn’t leave until 1.30pm, confusing us even more. We were the only passengers on board and no one got on during the 20-minute journey back to the TIC.

A couple did speak to the driver at one of the stops, saying they had become impatient while waiting and would just walk.

The next 722 bus attracted four passengers at the TIC - again, very low numbers. You can see why the service - among many others - is being reviewed.

But then, with the lack of ‘real-time’ information and confusing timings - among other things - you can understand why not many people use it.