A NEW park and ride scheme which replaced a previous service notoriously prone to flooding, has been met with criticism since it opened less than a month ago. 

The Winnersh Triangle Park and Ride, next to Winnersh Triangle train station in Wharfedale Road, operates an express service every 15 minutes between the business park and Reading town centre.

It replaced the nearby Loddon Bridge Park and Ride which was frequently submerged in flood water when the River Loddon burst its banks, at the end of the October.

But Woodley resident Yvonne Hatcher and her husband Mike, who recently travelled on the bus, have slammed the new service as "not fit for purpose" due to its size. 

Mrs Hatcher, 72, said: "The first time I got there was about 10.45am and I just about got a parking space but I saw people come in to park and by the time they found a spot the bus had gone.

"Those people got there in plenty of time, but couldn't park because the car parking area is much too small. 

"You have to get there by 10am or earlier to get a space, which is no good if you're travelling later.

"It's easy enough if you're being dropped off but a lot of my friends are elderly and they're on their own so they have to make their own way there."

She added that a lot of the spaces are taken up by commuters using the neighbouring station and people park there as it is cheaper than Wokingham station's car park.

She went on: "The bus stop is also too far from the which means older people with heavy shopping have a long walk from the bus to their cars."

A council spokesperson said: “Winnersh Park and Ride replaces Loddon Bridge, which needed on average 250 spaces per day. At Winnersh existing train passengers use 80, so in total 330 are needed. We’ve created 390, and if they get snapped up early it means the park and ride is working. 

"However, each day this week there’s been about 30 free at midday. If it is full people can use the ones at Mereoak or Madejski, and in the run up to Christmas we will put up direction signs to them. 

“There wasn’t enough room to design the bus stop in the middle of the park and ride; too many spaces would have been lost. There are a number of disabled parking bays for disabled badge holders, next to the bus stop. People can also drop off passengers at the bus stop before parking.”