A TRIAL period to extend park and ride bus services in Winchester could flop before they get off the ground, transport chiefs fear.

The experiment, which is scheduled to last until July, is due to start on Monday.

Park and ride buses currently run from Bar End to the city centre, but during the trial, peak-hour services will extend to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, in Romsey Road.

Members of the Winchester Highway and Transport Advisory Panel hope it will encourage staff to leave their cars outside the city, easing parking problems and congestion.

They would also like workers at University College Winchester, Hampshire Constabulary HQ and Winchester Prison to use the buses.

But Andy Berncastle, passenger transport operations manager at Hampshire County Council, told a meeting on Tuesday that their hopes could be dashed.

He said the daily £1.50 charge for park and ride was not very different to the parking charges for staff at the hospital.

In the case of Hampshire Constabulary, employees are entitled to free parking, he added.

City councillor Richard Knasel said the hospital had declined to contribute towards the extended bus routes.

He added that the city and county councils had been left to pick up the £55,000 bill for the experiment.

The hospital has tried to encourage more staff to use park and ride in the past, when services only covered the city centre.

In April last year, employees were offered free parking at Bar End, courtesy of the RHCH, for 12 weeks.

The scheme was only open to the first 100 applicants, but a fortnight into the project, only 10 had taken it up.

In July, hospital chiefs agreed a substantial rise in parking charges at their Romsey Road site. The cost of a monthly ticket for employees increased from £5.60 to £18.70.

Staff on day shifts were also told that they could only park at the hospital a maximum of four days per week.

Across the road at Hampshire Constabulary, employees are entitled to free parking.

A force spokesman said there were no plans to introduce charges, although their parking policy was under review.

He added that Hampshire Constabulary did not intend to offer its staff any incentive to use the park and ride extension.

The force does encourage employees to take part in car-sharing schemes, the spokesman said.

l Meanwhile, evening park and ride bus services in Winchester are to be cut due to a lack of demand.

Winchester City Council cabinet members were told an evening service had been established in November for an experimental period of six months but a survey of usage showed that it was no longer viable.

The service comprised of eight round journeys picking passengers up from the city's station, the Broadway, Barfield car park and St Catherine's car park with the final journey leaving the station at 8.30.

Under new cabinet proposals, agreed on Wednesday, the service will be reduced from eight journeys to two evening buses-the last departing the station at 7.15.

Originally, officers recommended that the evening service be cut all together but that idea was rejected by members.

Richard Knasel, responsible for economy and transport, said: "I feel the evening park and ride was a welcome addition to the economy of Winchester. It's sad that not enough employees have recognised it was there."

Leader, Sheila Campbell said: "There has not been the uptake at the moment to justify this service. We need to find a way of doing surveys of train commuters to see if having an evening service could find a market."

Mrs Campbell said as yet a "market had not been found".

The new timetable will come into effect on Tuesday, May 3rd, and the cost of the contract with Stagecoach will be £306,575. Previously, the price of the full service including the evening timetable was £326,600.

A review of the whole park and ride operation will take place in June.