The new Park and Ride in the east of Cardiff is proving to be extremely popular, with the numbers of people using it rising each week.

Since its launch on October 19, the weekly number of cars using the Park and Ride has more than doubled, with the latest count showing 1548 drivers taking advantage of the service from November 16 to 22.

Both commuters and shoppers are finding the Cardiff East Park and Ride invaluable and the approaching festive season, coupled with the recent opening of St David’s, has boosted figures significantly with more than 6000 vehicles using the service.

Councillor Delme Bowen, Executive member for Traffic and Transportation, said: “People are realising just how easy the new Park and Ride makes it to get in and out of the city centre and I am getting nothing but positive feedback about it.

“It’s great to see people actively seeking alternative travel solutions to get into Cardiff to help reduce congestion problems and carbon emissions. The Cardiff East Park and Ride looks to be a resounding success.”

Based just off the A48 (Eastern Avenue) the Cardiff East Park and Ride can be accessed from the Pentwyn Interchange. It has 340 car parking spaces, including 19 disabled spaces, with buses running every 15 minutes direct to Dumfries Place at the end of Queen Street (next to Sainsburys) via a dedicated bus lane.

The bus journey gives people a quick and environmentally friendly way of travelling into Cardiff city centre, with the amount of spaces to be eventually extended to 1100.

The cost of the Park and Ride for all-day parking is £2.50 per car with buses running from 7am to 8.30pm Monday to Friday (Thursdays 7am to 10.30pm), Saturdays 9am to 7pm and Sundays 9am to 5.30pm. The buses are low-floor, wheelchair accessible and able to take prams.

There is a Park and Ride bus every fifteen From Monday to Friday the service operates from 7am until 8.30pm and 10.30pm on Thursdays. On Saturdays buses run from 9am to 7pm and on Sundays from 9am until 5.30pm.

The new Park and Ride is part of Cardiff Council’s Sustainable Travel City initiative, which is partly funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, and links in with the ‘Free B’ shuttle bus, which helps in getting people between key points in the city centre, with a bus every 10 minutes.

Cardiff East Park and Ride also links up with existing Park and Ride facilities which are available to the west of the city at the new Cardiff City stadium in Leckwith.

Opening times are 7.30am to 7.30pm Monday to Saturday, except on match days.

At the weekend the regular Cardiff South and Cardiff North Park and Ride services are in operation. On Saturday these run from both County Hall and Crown Way from 9am to 6pm and on Sunday from 10am to 5.30pm (Cardiff North Park and Ride,is open on Sundays until January 3 for the Christmas period).

More than 74,000 people are expected at the Millennium Stadium for the match, which kicks off at 5.15pm, and people travelling to Cardiff are advised to plan their journey in advance. Drivers are also advised to allow extra time for their journey into Cardiff as widening works on the M4 may cause congestion at the busiest times.

The best way to travel to Cardiff is by car share or by using park and ride.

The park and ride site at the Cardiff City stadium at Leckwith (YELLOW CAR PARK) can be accessed from J33 of the M4. The car park will have a staff presence from 9am, will open at 9:30am, with the first bus at 9.30am. The last bus will leave the pick-up points at 9pm, with the car park closing at 9.30pm.

The drop off point for Leckwith is on Tresillian Way north at the rear of the railway station. Pick-up after the game will be at two locations in Callaghan Square – Callaghan Square north in the lay-by next to Eversheds and Tresillian Way north, at rear of railway station.

The park and ride service costs £5 per car which includes the bus. The services are accessible for the disabled, people with movement difficulties and wheelchair users, with dedicated parking next to the bus pick-up. Low floor buses and raised kerbs at both pick up and drop off points will also be in use.

Coach parking will be provided off Sophia Close where there are dedicated coach parking areas with driver facilities. The cost is £5 per coach.

The following road closures will also take place.

• Between 3.30pm and 8.30pm Kingsway from its junction with North Rd / Boulevard de Nantes to its junction with Duke Street.
• Cowbridge Road East from its junction with Cathedral Road to its junction with Westgate Street.
• Tudor Street from its junction with Clare Road to its junction with Wood Street (access for residents & traders will be permitted).
• Plantagenet Street and Beauchamp Street from their junctions with Despenser Place to their junctions with Tudor Street (access for residents and traders will be permitted)

The following roads will be closed in their entirety:

Duke Street, Castle Street, High Street, St.Mary Street, Caroline Street, Wood Street, Central Square, Westgate Street, Quay Street, Guildhall Place, Golate, Park Street, Havelock Street and Scott Road.

The Regimental Band of The Royal Welsh

Detachments from the Royal Navy, the Army, the Royal Air Force, the Wales University Royal Navy Unit, the Army’s University Officer Training Corp and the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets, will march from King Edward VII Avenue via Museum Avenue to the Welsh National War Memorial in Alexandra Gardens, Cathays Park, Cardiff where they will arrive by 10.40am and form up around the memorial.

Those detachments will be joined by columns of ex-Servicemen and women, organised by the Royal British Legion and Columns of civilians representing organisations connected with past conflicts.

The Regimental Band and Corp of Drums of The Royal Welsh will lead the detachments.

The north side will be formed by detachments of the various ex-Servicemen and women and Regimental Associations.

The east side will be formed by detachments of the Territorial Army and Glamorgan Counties Army Cadet Force (5th Cadet Battalion Royal Welsh), Air Cadets, Sea Cadets and Emergency Services.

The south side will be formed by detachments of the Navy, Army and Air Force and The Regimental Band and Corp of Drums of The Royal Welsh.

The west side will be formed by the official wreath layers and the Band of the Cardiff Canton Corps of the Salvation Army.

A selection of music will be played by The Regimental Band and Corp of Drums of The Royal Welsh from 10.40am until shortly before 11.00am.

The Band of the Cardiff Canton Corps of the Salvation Army Band will play at the Service, which will be conducted by the Reverend Stewart Lisk. Reverend Lisk will be accompanied by Mr Syd Nash, Chairman, The Royal British Legion, Vale of Glamorgan, Rabbi Wallenberg and Rabbi Doctor Charles Middleburgh, Reverend Father Raymond O’Shea T.D, K.H.S, O.L.J, St David’s Cathedral, Cardiff, a representative of the Welsh Churches, Major Peter Moran, Divisional Commander, Salvation Army (South and Mid Wales), and other representatives of the faith communities.

The leaders of Government, local government and opposition parties will be joined by Dr Peter Beck M.A, MD., F.R.C.P., Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of South Glamorgan.

At 10.58am the service will begin with a bidding and words of scripture given by the Reverend Lisk followed by the Exhortation.

At 11.00am guns of the 104 Air Defence Regiment RA (V) from Raglan Barracks, Newport, will be fired to mark the Two Minutes’ Silence which will be observed. Its conclusion will again be marked by the firing of the gun. Following that firing a Bugler of The Regimental Band and Corp of Drums of The Royal Welsh will sound the ‘Last Post’ and ‘Reveille.’

Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of South Glamorgan will then lay his wreath at the Memorial, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen. The laying of wreaths will continue in the following order: the Royal British Legion, the Naval Regional Officer on behalf of The Royal Navy, the Commander of 160 (Wales) Brigade on behalf of The British Army, the Air Officer Wales on behalf of the Royal Air Force, the President of the Merchant Navy Association (Wales), the Fire Service on behalf of the Civilian Services, the First Minister for Wales, the Leader of Cardiff Council and the Secretary of State for Wales, The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor of Cardiff and the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales, and Opposition parties of the National Assembly for Wales and Cardiff Council.

When all the wreaths have been laid there will be a short Service which has been produced using material supplied by The Royal British Legion & Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. The Kohima Epitaph will be read by Peter Goodfellow, President of the Burma Star Association (Cardiff). The singing of the National Anthems will complete the ceremony.

At the conclusion of the service the wreath laying party will return to the front of Cardiff City Hall where they will gather with other civic dignitaries and members of Cardiff Council, and fronted by scouts and guides, before the columns of detachments from the Royal Navy, Army, Territorial Army, Royal Air Force, Wales University Royal Navy Unit, the Army’s University Officer Training Corp, Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets and ex-Servicemen and women present on parade will carry out a march past, culminating in a salute at the front of City Hall.

The Parade has been organised this year by The Regimental Sergeant Major and staff of the 3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh.