No takers for York’s new Park and Ride contract

First gets 6 month extension on present contract terms

Park and ride busesCity of York Council opened a tender process for bus operators to bid for a new contract to manage one of the UK’s most successful Park&Ride services in June.

With over four-million passenger journeys each year, the council was confident the tender would attract a number of high profile bids to continue offering the best possible deal for residents and visitors.

There was speculation that the low emission specification for the required buses, combined with a tight financial expectations, have combined to make the contract unattractive to commercial bus operators. At the moment the Council makes around £100,000 a year in revenue surplus from the service. The scale of the service means that the number of bus companies that could tender is restricted to only the largest operators.

The Council now says, “although there was strong interest in the contract, at this stage of the procurement process no responses meeting the council’s financial expectations against the specification tendered were received.

The council is confident that an operator will be secured in the coming months and following dialogue with a number of bus companies, options for addressing the concerns of potential suppliers will be developed. Subject to Executive approval on 13 October, the results of this review will be brought before the council’s Executive in December, prior to the issue of a further invitation to tender.

The council has negotiated a six month extension to the current contract with First York, whose contract expires at the end of January 2017. This will ensure that residents and visitors experience no changes to the Park&Ride and will continue to receive the same level of service until a new operator is in place.

New electric bus fleet

York’s electric bus fleet

Executive will be asked to approve this extension at a public meeting on13 October.

Councillors will then be asked to determine which elements of the specification they would wish to alter at December’s Executive.  This could include alterations to the frequency of service, type of bus used on the service and fares charged”.

Cllr Ian Gillies, Executive Member for Transport and Planning said: “We’re pleased that this tender received strong interest and we have already approached operators to establish what alterations to the Park&Ride specification might be required to enable them to bid again.

“Whilst it’s disappointing that no compliant responses were received at this stage of the process, we’re confident we will secure a new operator who will work with the authority to provide a service, which will work towards achieving its targets over the length of the contract.”

Executive takes place on Thursday 13 October from 5.30pm and is open to members of the public or is available to watch live online from:www.york.gov.uk/webcasts

To find out more about the report, or to attend, click here

York’s first Park&Ride service started in the late 1970s, operating from two free under utilised car parks just beyond the city walls, catering for peak demand for Christmas shopping and the first permanent Park&Ride site opened in 1990.

Growth in demand is shown below.

  • 1990 – 159,690 passengers
  • 1995 – 734,150
  • 2000 – 1,146,379
  • 2005 – 2,625,250
  • 2016 – now over four-million passenger journeys each year

York residents invited to give views at “Bus Surgery”

York’s bus users are being invited to give the city’s bus operators and the council their views on York’s bus services at a ‘Bus Surgery’ event on Thursday 6 October opposite York Railway Station.

The sessions come at a time where pressure continues to grow on the Council and bus operators to provide at least monthly reliability information on their services.

2016-02-Bus-stike-performance

In some countries like New Zealand reliability stats are routinely published

At present only an annual figure – derived from a single week monitoring – is provided each year.

In the past opposition Councillors have called on bus operators to provide the kind of information routinely provided by train operating companies.

The information is available from the monitoring systems already installed in most busses in the City.

This weeks drop in  sessions will be running from 12pm-2pm and 4pm-6pm will see representatives from First, Arriva, Transdev, EYMS and Harrogate Coach Travel/ Connexions bus and the council on hand to speak with York’s residents and bus users about their experiences, what they think works well and what could be improved in future.

Executive Member for Transport and Planning, Cllr Ian Gillies, said: “Whilst bus use is increasing in the city, and York scores high in passenger satisfaction surveys for its bus services, the council alongside the Quality Bus Partnership want to continue to improve the city’s services. Bus Surgery events like this help us gain valuable feedback from bus users that can directly help us shape York’s bus service for the future. I would urge all bus users to come along and give us their views.”

The bus surgeries are part of a range of measures being taken forward by York’s Better Bus Area Programme – an initiative by the council and the city’s bus operators – to improve bus services in the city.

Work undertaken through the Better Bus Area has included refurbishment of many of the city’s bus stops and shelters, real-time information screens at many locations in the city, provision of York’s Bus Wardens and improved management of traffic to benefit bus services.

Since the Better Bus Area programme was formed in 2012 bus use in York has increased by 6 percent*. This equates to 900,000 passenger journeys a year, or approximately an additional 3,000 journeys a day.

For more information on travelling and around York visit http://www.itravelyork.info/

Are York’s public payphones doomed?

As we reported yesterday, BT have applied to the York Council for permission to remove two public payphones (one in Acomb Wood Drive and the other in Wains Grove).

OFCOM gives guidance on the procedure to be used when requests like these are received.

It has become clear today that, across the City, several other payphones are set to be axed. 26 removals are listed now on the York Council’s web site. Although received 3 weeks ago, the applications have only just come to light.

Residents have until 19th October to respond to the plans.

Some kioks are listed

Some kiosk are listed

Unfortunately, the Council has not published any useful information about the payphones. In other parts of the country proposals like these have been accompanied by details of the number of calls made from the payphones in question.

In particular the number of 101 and 999 calls made from the phones has been revealed.

In Scotland, BT plan to remove 1500 kiosks. The proposal has had a lot of publicity. The issue there is more complex because some of the payphones serve remote rural areas where cell phone coverage can be poor.

No such lists have been produced for the York area. We would expect that Councillors would have, by now, had the opportunity to consult on the plans. They should be checking on the number of emergency calls made from the payphones and also the adequacy of cell net alternatives.

Some of York’s kiosks, like the one in Duncombe Place, are “Listed”. The red K6 design is regarded as an iconic part of the traditional British streetscape. So far none of the Listed kiosk have been threatened with removal.

No one expects public facilities that are not being used to continue to be provided without at least a review. Indeed, some of the BT kiosks have been looking quite tawdry recently (Kingsway West, Foxwood shops, Cornlands Road) while many are easy targets for fly-posters.

Some are magnets for crime of one sort or another.

Some Payphones are run down

Some Payphones are run down

But we do believe that any plan to remove payphones should be transparent.

& that means publishing a full list – and usage statistics –  for all Payphones which could face closure over the next few years.

NB: 93% of the UK population now have the use of a mobile phone. There are 92 million mobile phone subscriptions in the UK (Source OFCOM).  OFCOM claims that we are “spending two hours online on our smartphones every day” There are also 33 million landlines in our homes.

The Payphone kiosks listed to be removed include:

Telephone Box Adjacent 159 Mount Vale York

Ref. No: 16/02131/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box Adjacent Wains House Wains Grove York

Ref. No: 16/02137/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box At Junction Of Beckfield Lane And Fellbrook Avenue York

Ref. No: 16/02148/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box Adjacent 1 The Village Haxby York

Ref. No: 16/02145/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016 | Validated: Fri 16 Sep 2016 | Status: Awaiting decision

Telephone Box Adjacent 150 Holgate Road York

Ref. No: 16/02130/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Kiosk Opposite Acomb Wood Shopping Centre Acomb Wood Drive York

Ref. No: 16/02147/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016 | Validated: Fri 16 Sep 2016 | Status: Awaiting decision

Telephone Box Outside Cemetery Fordlands Road York

Ref. No: 16/02132/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Tephone Box Outside The Black Horse The Village Wigginton York

Ref. No: 16/02142/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box At Junction Of James Nicolson Link And Kettlestring Lane York

Ref. No: 16/02134/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box At Junction Of Bishopthorpe Road And Balmoral Terrace York

Ref. No: 16/02133/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box Adjacent The Willows Wetherby Road Rufforth York

Ref. No: 16/02140/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016 | Validated: Fri 16 Sep 2016 | Status: Awaiting decision

Telephone Box At Junction Of Osbaldwick Lane And Tang Hall Lane York

Ref. No: 16/02126/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box Outside Fox Public House The Village Stockton On The Forest York

Ref. No: 16/02125/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016 | Validated: Fri 16 Sep 2016 | Status: Awaiting decision

Telephone Box Adjacent Pippin Barn Main Street Hessay York

Ref. No: 16/02141/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box At High Grange Moor Lane Haxby York

Ref. No: 16/02144/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box Adjacent 99 Main Street Askham Bryan York

Ref. No: 16/02135/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box Adjacent 147 Beckfield Lane York

Ref. No: 16/02149/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box Whitby Avenue York

Ref. No: 16/02128/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box Adjacent 11 Viking Road York

Ref. No: 16/02150/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box Opposite 125 – 127 Bad Bargain Lane York

Ref. No: 16/02127/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box Opposite Station House Common Road Dunnington York

Ref. No: 16/02129/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016 |

Telephone Box Adjacent Old Joiners Cottage Main Street Askham Richard York

Ref. No: 16/02138/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box Adjacent Mill Cottage Mill Lane Acaster Malbis York

Ref. No: 16/02136/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box At Junction Of Brecks Lane And New Lane Huntington York

Ref. No: 16/02143/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box Outside Telephone Exchange York Road Deighton York

Ref. No: 16/02139/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016

Telephone Box Adjacent 43 North Moor Road Huntington York

Ref. No: 16/02146/TCNOT | Received: Fri 16 Sep 2016