[Travel] Mill Road P&R Chaos

[Weststander]

It's not just season ticket holders tho eh? It's every damn person that attends a match. Must be a very tiny minority that don't find the transport options (public OR private) to be just a little bit shit

We await the arrival of someone telling us our match-day travel set up is the envy of every club in the country. Plus the pros and pros of the generous Matchday Free Travel Scheme.

None of which helps the poor blighters standing at the top of Mill Road for an ever increasing age

 

[Terry Butcher Tribute Act]

Unfortunately those travelling onwards past Hove have a bit of a challenge now with half the number of services running compared to pre-pandemic days. These are never lengthened either.

And this has a knock on effect on....Mill Road again.

It's so poor that it's not even acknowledged as an issue by anyone. Even the usual happy clappers/bots can't justify it. No car park, no park and ride (despite the predictable PB bollocks that it was temporary), smaller bus capacity, creaking train network, more seats in the stadium, and it just doesn't seem anyone cares if it's a ballache for more and more supporters.

Hopefully the FAB can raise this and get some feedback/acknowledgement from the club

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

We await the arrival of someone telling us our match-day travel set up is the envy of every club in the the country. Plus the pros and pros of the generous Matchday Free Travel Scheme.

None of which helps the poor blighters standing at the top of Mill Road for an ever increasing age

Awaiting the arrival of anyone in particular?

 

[Weststander]

Awaiting the arrival of anyone in particular?

An unfair alias of Paul.

 

[Weststander]

There’s more people than ever before attending matches and they’ve got to get there somehow.

Are attendances up on our April and May 22 home games, when Mill Road worked fine?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

An unfair alias of Paul.

I always get severely scolded any time I suggest such a thing. He's always STRAIGHT in there!

 

[Guinness Boy]

I think folks nowadays seem to forget it was never originally supposed to be about the car parking. That's just crept in over the years. It was originally supposed to be all about the seamless public transport. Funny how that was allowed to turn to shit

But better than the seamless public transport to Gillingham.

Falmer literally was the only option. DK understands that just as much as TB

 

[Weststander]

But better than the seamless public transport to Gillingham.

Falmer literally was the only option. DK understands that just as much as TB

That is true.

DK explained to me why all the other mooted sites weren’t viable eg statutory legal constraints.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

But better than the seamless public transport to Gillingham.

Falmer literally was the only option. DK understands that just as much as TB

Your post missed out a stadium. Withdean. Now THAT stadium didn't leave fans snookered after games for more hours than they cared for

 

[Guinness Boy]

That is true.

DK explained to me why all the other mooted sites weren’t viable eg statutory legal restraints.

It doesn't make the reduction in P&R and shitty trains any more palatable. But we are stuck, site wise.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Your post missed out a stadium. Withdean. Now THAT stadium didn't leave fans snookered for more hours than they cared for

Because that was always a viable long term option.....



30,000 people with THAT tunnel?

 

[Guinness Boy]

I think that's another goalpost that has shifted slightly. I believe the club initially provided some sort of subsidy to ST for their coach travel, but that was withdrawn a little while ago. As a result, it is quite an expensive option.

From Findon Valley, for my son and I, it's £41.70 per game.

I would guess that the higher cost of this option has pushed some folk back towards cars/P&R as they are significantly cheaper.

That's obscene. It was "only" £99 for me and my 15 year old to and from Wolverhampton. I thought that was steep. Clearly the cost of the coach hire as a base cost is going through the roof.

 

[Weststander]

It doesn't make the reduction in P&R and shitty trains any more palatable. But we are stuck, site wise.

Personally I’ve never slagged off the Falmer site.

Beyond the club’s control, I wish Network Rail would alter Falmer Station, or if an absolute impossibility, Southern Fail increase the number of match day trains.

As a Mill Road user, the number of punters has increased dramatically, I suspect folk sick of the trains.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Because that was always a viable long term option.....



30,000 people with THAT tunnel?

Clearly wasn't. But fond memories of being able to be back in the pub 30 minutes after FT instead of being stuck in some shitty queue in the back end of beyond

 

[jackanada]

We need someone to sweet talk the local farmers.
Firstly get Bennett's field back working, secondly it seems there is a track that can take you cross country from Inglesdlide Livery or Chalky Downs camping to the stadium.
Now if whoever it was getting dropped off by 4x4 in this manner could have a word and get a regular tractor trailer service going that would be grand.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Your post missed out a stadium. Withdean. Now THAT stadium didn't leave fans snookered after games for more hours than they cared for

I ALWAYS thought we should build the stadium 8 mins from my front door (5 mins downhill )

 

[Dave the hatosaurus]

The problems of the mill road p&r have been caused primarily by the double-edged sword of increased demand (due to shit trains, pandemic, loss of mithras etc) and reduced capacity (loss of bendy buses, traffic congestion etc).
Before the match it is just about bearable as the demand is spread out somewhat and i used to find if i waited for some 40 minutes after the game before leaving the stadium i would usually get to the top of the stairs up to the bus park before the queue started. Sadly this is no longer the case and on sunday i had the joyful experience of not even reaching the stairs by the time i heard the stadium announcement that the last park and ride buses would be leaving shortly- one hour and 15 minutes after the final whistle!
Like everyone i would like something to be done and i have a couple of suggestions. The obvious thing would be to somehow get southern fail to improve the train service and thus reduce p&r demand (if only!!!) but if that is a non goer how about using double decker buses to drop off at either the top or bottom of mill road and having 1 or 2 single deckers to shuttle people who are unable to walk to their car. The added benefit would be that the double deckers would not themselves get caught up in the queue up the hill and be able to get back to the Amex quicker. They could even use the buses for the racecourse once that queue is gone as it was so frustrating on sunday seeing racecourse buses leaving with about 7 people on them and two more empty ones waiting while we were still 100 deep climbing the stairs!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I ALWAYS thought we should build the stadium 8 mins from my front door (5 mins downhill )

Where was the option for building the stadium slap bang in the middle of Preston Park?

 

[Easy 10]

I've been lucky the last 4 games as I've ponced a seat on a Seagulls Travel bus with my sister, due to her friend being quite ill and not being able to attend lately so I've had her seat.

Unfortunately she's been feeling much better this week, and was well enough to go to the game, so I was thrown back into the wilds of public transport. I aimed for the 12.12 at Portslade, which was delayed, and delayed, and delayed until about 12.35. Eventually a 4 carriage jobbie turned up which was so rammed I physically couldn't get on. When the doors opened, people were literally almost falling out. Maybe I could've forced my way on somewhere, but honestly, even for that short journey, I really didn't fancy it. What a shitshow. I figured the next train would be no better (and probably delayed as well), so I left the station, and as I wandered down Boundary Road, I pondered my next move. Just giving up, going home and watching it on TV was becoming very tempting. But then a number 6 bus to Brighton Station went past me, so I hopped on that.

Long and short of it, after a bit of hanging around to get on a train at Brighton, I got to the Amex concourse at 1.45, so 1 hour 45 minutes from leaving home to arriving at the destination. Getting home was a predictable trauma, leaving at the final whistle (like a mug) and eventually cramming on to a train at Falmer at about 4.35. Abandoned any notion of getting a west coast connection, sloped down to Churchill Sq and got a Sunday service 700, eventually getting home just before 6, so some 2 hours after the game.

Regular NSC-ers will know I am a seasoned travel grizzler on here. I have not much more to add tbh, its simply getting worse and worse. I always relied on the trains, but since COVID, the levels of service have now rendered this unviable. I was going to give the Mill Road P&R a go - that is until I clocked the stories on here.

Come renewal time, for the first time, I'm actually going to have a decision to make. I can't put up with this any more.

 

[Weststander]

I ALWAYS thought we should build the stadium 8 mins from my front door (5 mins downhill )

Also downhill, we could leave as late as 14:50 hours and comfortably make our South Stand seats. Getting home to hear ALL the Radio Sussex post match programme.

I loved it.

Except the rain.