Published on: Thursday, 12 September 2019
Last updated: Thursday, 12 September 2019
Fewer cars descended on Suffolk villages for the FolkEast Festival thanks to a free shuttle that conveyed even more people this year.
Passenger numbers on the free shuttle bus, that met over 90 trains from Wickham Market train station over the 16th to 18th August, were up 39% on last year.
The free shuttle is paid for by the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership which works in conjunction with the festival every year to encourage people to come by train, rather than pollute and clog the villages around the festival with cars.
Chairman of the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership, Aaron Taffera, said, “We really worked hard to get the message out about how easy it is to get to the festival by train using our free shuttle and it really paid off.
“We’re delighted to see that passenger numbers were up by so much as this means that people left the car at home - helping to reduce pollution and congestion for those living in villages around the festival site.”
Festival organiser, John Marshall Potter said, “We’re grateful to the East Suffolk Lines Partnership for funding the shuttle bus link for another year as it makes it so easy for festival goers to let the train take the strain and get them to the festival.
“This helps us to extend our green credentials in helping to reduce the number of vehicles using an already congested A12 and supports our aim to be one of the greenest festivals in Europe.”