Search Results for: "Bus services" ...

First York announce more frequent bus services

Westfield services affected

From Sunday 28th June, the following changes will take place to help with safe, socially-distanced travel for essential journeys.

Full details of the changes and timetables can be found in the ‘Forthcoming’ section of the timetables page.

The changes are being made to help manage continued capacity restrictions on buses due to social distancing as further lockdown measures are eased.

City Services

Service 1 – Frequency of buses increased to every 10 minutes during the day Monday – Friday and every 12 minutes Saturday, changes to times to reduce waiting at bus stops due to reduced traffic levels.

Service 4 – Frequency of buses increased to every 8/9 minutes during the day Monday – Friday and every 12 minutes Saturday, changes to times to reduce waiting at bus stops due to reduced traffic levels.

Service 5/5A – Frequency of buses increased to every 15 minutes during the day Saturday and every 30 minutes Sunday, changes to times to reduce waiting at bus stops due to reduced traffic levels.

Service 6 – Frequency of buses increased to every 10 minutes during the day Monday – Friday and every 12 minutes Saturday, changes to times to reduce waiting at bus stops due to reduced traffic levels.

Service 10/10A – Changes to times to reduce waiting at bus stops due to reduced traffic levels.

Service 11 – Buses will run every 30 minutes for the majority of the day.

Service 11S – will not operate.

Service 12 – Buses will run every 30 minutes for the majority of the day.

Service 200 – will continue to operate 3 early morning services.

University Services

Service 66 – Changes to times to reduce waiting at bus stops due to reduced traffic levels.

66A, 66X – will not operate. Alternative journeys will be provided by Service 10, 10A and 66.

Service N66 – will not operate.

Park and Ride Services

Service 2A – will operate every 10 minutes Mon– Fri at peak hours, and run every 15 minutes during off-peak and Saturdays. A Sunday service will operate every 30 minutes. All stops will be served between Rawcliffe Bar and City Centre.

Service 3 – will not operate. Alternative journeys will be provided by service 12 between Askham Bar Tesco and York.

Service 7 – will operate every 10 minutes Mon– Fri at peak hours, and run every 15 minutes during off-peak and Saturdays. A Sunday service will operate every 30 minutes.

Service 8, 66A, 66X – will not operate. Alternative journeys will be provided by Service 10, 10A, 66.

Service 9 – will operate every 10 minutes Mon– Fri at peak hours, and run every 15 minutes during off-peak and Saturdays. A Sunday service will operate every 30 minutes.

Service 59 – will not operate.

Please only travel if your journey is essential.

Can York bus services cope post lockdown?

Pensioners free travel arrangements under review?

Sections of the media are reporting that buses will not stop to pick up passengers if drivers have a “full” load.

Post COVID, and to retain social distancing, that could be as few as 25 people on a double decker bus.

At peak time such services might previously have carried as many as 100 people.

Bus capacity will be reduced by 75% according to First York. Passengers will be counted at they get on and off services with effect from Monday.

With more workers, and some schools, set to add pressure to the transport system in June, clearly some measures need to be taken to ensure that priority is given to those making essential journeys.

One suggestion is that free – or discounted – travel should be restricted to off peak times (10:00am – 3:00pm and after 7:00pm in the evening). This could affect pensioners, children and those using the YoZone card.

Bus screens now need free space indicators

Some officials believe that this would ease capacity issues on public transport particularly if employers and schools stagger arrival/closing times and that as many people as possible continue to “work from home”.

There has also been a suggestion that a new Priority weekly ticket could limit travel to two hour specified slots during the day (morning and evening) to give workers a better chance of finding space on a particular service.

Despite the protests of some ultra pro cycling groups, that the 15,000 or so per day displaced bus passengers should take to their bikes, the reality is that even doubling the numbers cycling to work would scarcely dent the demand pattern for bus services.

A clear plan to avoid the congestion that increased car use would bring to the City is needed and it is needed now. Whatever the solution, bus companies and the council need to get a process in place quickly if chaos is to be avoided.

Meanwhile it has emerged that the Council failed to spend its bus stop improvement budget last year. Despite pleas for “next bus” screens to be installed at busy stops in Acomb, Foxwood and elsewhere, no progress was made.

The budget was underspent by around £45,000.

The screens, and mobile travel apps, need now to be upgraded to show whether spare seats are available on individual services (as already happens with some rail services).

Real time information systems have a vital role to play in avoiding large queues at bus stops at least while social distancing rules are in place.

Weeds overgrowing a bus shelter in Foxwood Lane

Many bus shelters are in poor condition. Some need repainting. Others need panels replacing. Some are regularly overgrown with vegetation. One on Foxwood Lane famously sports a crown of weeds every summer.

Now, ironically, there is a suggestion that “green roofs” should be installed on some shelters to aid biodiversity. (NB. The shelters that are regularly overgrown are located next to the countryside so make little contribution to bee welfare).

These are issues that require prompt attention and a proper dialogue with local residents.

Reprieve for number 3A and 12 bus services in west York

In September the current operator of services 3A and 12, First York, announced that they planned to withdraw service 3A (the 7-day per week evening Askham Bar Park & Ride service) and part of service 12 (specifically the section between Foxwood Lane and Alness Drive) as they were “no longer commercially viable”.

The Council agreed to subsidise the services until the end of the financial year, while seeking tenders for their continuation.

The cost of continuing the services is £24,000 for the 3A and £65,000 for the 12.

The Council is being recommended to use part of a government funded bus service operators grant (worth £150,416 in total) to subside these two services. The Council already allocates over £700,000 a year for bus service subsidies (not including the cost of the free pensioners bus pass, which is funded from central taxation).

The Council is banking on the two services being more popular in the future and therefore requiring a lower subsidy.

It says demand for service 3A may increase when the planned paid overnight parking service at Askham Bar Park & Ride site comes into action in spring 2020 and that demand for service 12 may increase when the LNER Community Stadium (at the other end of the route) opens in 2020.

Improvements in other bus services

Through the “Funding for Local Bus Services 2020-21” scheme, the council has the opportunity to bid for £83.5k one-off funding in order to achieve one or more of the following objectives (which must deliver an increase in services and therefore the 12 and 3A services are not eligible as they currently exist):

“to improve current local bus services – for instance increasing evening or weekend frequencies, or supporting additional seasonal services in tourist areas.
“to restore lost bus routes where most needed to ensure people have access to public transport services.
“to support new bus services, or extensions to current services, to access e.g. new housing, employment opportunities, healthcare facilities etc.”

The funding must be used for the provision of local bus services- i.e. time tabled services open to any member of the public upon payment of a fare.

The funding available in York is £83.5k – equivalent to the operating costs for a single bus for approximately 8 months. It would not therefore have a major impact on service levels.

The City has submitted a bid for “a package of enhancements to routes which support York’s evening economy”

Changes to bus services from 1st December

Includes further refinement of number 12 service

Changes affect following services. Click for detailed timetable

Chapelfields – Wigginton service 1

Clifton Moor – York Uni service 6

Bishopthorpe – Heworth service 11

Foxwood – Woodthorpe – Monks Cross service 12

Gale Lane resurfacing works from 18th November with road closure. Bus services affected

Foss Bank affected next week

City of York Council will be carrying out resurfacing works on:

Foss Bank from Monday 4 November between 7.30pm till 5am working Monday to Friday
Gale Lane from on Monday 18 November between 9.15am till 5pm working Monday to Friday

Foss Bank: In order to carry out these works safely the use of a temporary road closure from the roundabout at Heworth Green to just past Sainsbury’s entrance will be necessary whilst works are taking place.

A clearly signed diversion route will be set out for through traffic. Buses will be diverted during working hours. The diversion for bus service 14 will be Heworth Green, Eboracum Way and Layerthorpe.

Site staff will be on hand to advise and assist residents about the access restrictions once the works are ongoing.

Any specific access requirements may be arranged by speaking to the onsite staff who will co-ordinate with residents and business requirements around ongoing construction operations.

There will be no access to Sainsbury’s from Foss Bank during the works period. However, customers will be able to access Sainsbury’s from Jewbury.

Gale Lane: A temporary road closure from the mini-roundabout at Cornlands Road to, and including, the junction of St Stephen’s Road will be necessary whilst works are taking place.

Buses will be diverted during working hours. This includes a diversion for bus service 4 – at southern end of Green Lane, turn around roundabout and return through Acomb via Green Lane, Front St, Gale Lane, resuming normal route at Cornlands Rd.

Service 24 – from Ascot Way terminus via Kingsway West, Danesford Ave, Stuart Rd, Tudor Rd, Green Lane, Front St, Gale Lane, Cornlands Rd resuming normal route halfway along Cornlands Rd.

Emergency services will be permitted through at all times. Cyclists will have to dismount and use the footways.

As with any construction work, there is likely to be a certain amount of disruption and inconvenience to the public, however everything will be done to keep any disruption to a minimum.

For more information on roadworks in York, visit www.york.gov.uk/roadworks

For travel information and advice visit www.itravelyork.info

Changes to tendered bus services in York

Bellhouse Way will lose its early evening service

The York Council has finally caught up with social media and confirmed which bus operators will provide which subsidised services from next week.

The Council says, “following a decision made by City of York Council’s Executive last month, arrangements have now been made for the continued operation of tendered bus services when the current contracts expire next Saturday 31 August”.

“Commercial interest from bus operators First York and Reliance means that some of the routes that previously required financial support from the council now need a reduced level of support or, in some cases, none at all”.

Timetables will be available at www.itravelyork.info from early next week, and the new service arrangements are as follows:

Service 10: First York will operate the evening service commercially (with no financial support from the council) from Monday 2 September. Journey times will be very similar to those currently provided by Transdev.

Service 11: First York will continue to operate the evening service, with financial support from the council.

Service 12: First York will operate the daytime service commercially from Monday 2 September. First York will also operate a commercial evening service between Acomb Park, Moor Lane and the city centre until approximately 9.30pm from Monday to Saturday.

Service 14: Transdev will operate an evening service, with financial support from the council, from Monday 2 September. This will include hourly journeys between Haxby (West Nooks) and the city centre all evening, extending to Woodthorpe and Foxwood after First York’s commercial service finishes at around 9.30pm. This means that the bus service along Alness Drive, Acomb Wood Drive and Bellhouse Way will not operate until late evening.

Service 19: Reliance will operate the weekday service commercially from Monday 2 September, with the exception of one morning peak-time journey, which will require support from the council. Transdev will operate the Saturday service, with financial support from the council. Journey times will be similar to those provided currently.

Service 20: Transdev will continue to operate the service, with financial support from the council.

Service 21: York Pullman will operate this service with financial support from the council, starting from Saturday 31 August. Journey times will be very similar to those provided currently by the Connexionsbuses service but, to improve reliability, all trips will terminate and start in the city centre, rather than at the Morrisons store off Foss Island Road.

Services 24, 25 and 26 will all be operated by Transdev, with financial support from the council, from Saturday 31 August. Journey times will be very similar to those currently offered by Arriva. Transdev will also operate the Friday and Saturday late evening service 26.

Subsidised bus services in York set to continue

The Council is being recommended to continue to subsidise several bus services in York. The services serve either remote areas or provide services at times of the day when commercial services don’t run.

Tenders to continue services were sought earlier in the year.

The affected series are

10 Evening Poppleton – City Centre – Dunnington Stamford Bridge
11 Evening Bishopthorpe – South Bank – Stonebow
12 Daytime Stonebow – Heworth – Monks Cross
14 Evening Foxwood – City Centre / New Earswick – Haxby West Nooks
19 Daytime Skelton – Clifton & Rawcliffe – Exhibition Square
20 Daytime Rawcliffe – Clifton Moor & Haxby – Monks Cross / Osbaldwick
21 Daytime Colton – Acaster Malbis & Bishopthorpe – Foss Islands
24 Daytime Ascot Way (Acomb) – Acomb & Holgate – Piccadilly
25 Daytime Derwenthorpe – Foss Islands – Crossfield Crescent (Fulford)
26 Daytime Crossfield Crescent (Fulford) – City Centre – South Bank
26 Fri/Sat eve Piccadilly – Crossfield Crescent (Fulford)

There is a question mark against the evening link (new service 15) between Stonebow and Monks Cross but officials hope to sustain the service in some way.

If approved the cost of subsidising bus services in the City will rise to £3/4 million.

The full report can be read by clicking here

A decision is expected on 18^th July.

Bus services in York get thumbs up from passengers

Bus users in York hold local bus services in high regard.

The most recent independent survey conducted by “Transport Focus” found that 89% were satisfied with their overall journey experience.

85% thought that the journey time was reasonable while 77% said the buses were punctual.

62% of fare paying passengers said he service was good value for money (down from 79% the previous year)

Most of the respondents used First services. First compared favourably with many other operators across the country.

Bus drivers behaviour was widely praised.

The survey results bear out similar findings from a door to door survey undertaken by local councillors last year.

The detailed results are:

York bus services back in the firing line?

New Rougier Street bus shelter

The York Council, as part of a “Clean Air Day”, is claiming that users of 75 cars could be accommodated on one double decker. Maybe so, but if they choose to wait at the new bus shelter on Rougier Street they will find that the real time information about bus services has disappeared.

Failure to roll out the electronic information screens to more stops has been a failing of the Council.

There are none at bus stops on Tadcaster Road which accommodate the, otherwise successful, inter city services.

Busy stops in the Acomb area have never had them.

They may be needed more and more as, following a good year in 2017 with high passenger numbers and record-breaking approval ratings in surveys, the service quality seems to be falling away again. This is mainly down to reliability with some buses being dropped without warning.

Back to the “Clean Air Day” and the Councils frankly disingenuous “on line” survey. The survey purports to ask residents whether they favour the use of lower emission buses on, and within, the inner ring road.

No prizes for the likely answer to that question. Might as well ask if residents would prefer have hemlock added to the water supply!

Generally, air quality in York has improved in recent years with cleaner vehicles making their way onto the streets. York already has some electric buses operating on Park and Ride routes. This will reach 100% shortly following a government grant decision.

The latest Euro 6 specifications substantially reduce emission levels on new diesel buses. However, Euro 6 buses cost £250,000 each meaning that upgrading just the First fleet in York would require investment of £17.5 million.

Having raised the possibility of access for only the least polluting buses by 2020, the Council singularly fails to tell residents how much a forced modernisation programme would cost and who would pay?

One of the questions implies that the change could mean a substantial increase in fares.

Another option for bus companies seeking to pay for the minimum £15,000 per bus cost of modifications to just exhaust systems, would be for them to withdraw services from less well used routes.

The Council can’t fund additional social bus services, so the consequence would be dozens, perhaps hundreds, of more cars on City streets.

Quite the reverse of what the Council hopes to achieve.

The Council needs a well thought through and costed modernisation programme for public transport in the City. Sloganising simply clouds the decision making process.

York bus services “some of the best in the region” claim

Figures compiled by the Department for Transport (DfT) show that improvements made to York’s buses helped take 460,000 car trips off the city’s roads last year, the equivalent of a traffic jam from York to Moscow.

The DfT’s annual statistics on public transport use show that the number of people using York’s buses has increased for the fourth year in a row. Last year there were 16.8 million passengers on York’s buses, compared to15 million in 2012/13. This is a growth in passengers of 12 percent, which is in contrast with the rest of the Yorkshire and Humber region which has fallen by 4 percent.

Passenger satisfaction information, collected by Transport Focus on behalf of the York Quality Bus Partnership, also suggests that 90 percent of York’s bus passengers are satisfied with the service they receive – a rate above the national average of 87 percent, and above the rates for West and South Yorkshire.

The figures are similar to those found by a Liberal Democrat residents survey undertaken in west York last year

The council and bus operators have worked together to improve York’s bus network over the last few years through the York Quality Bus Partnership. Innovations in York have included:

Improvements to bus information, including new on-street timetables and more real time displays
Two new park and ride sites at Askham Bar and Poppleton Bar
Fare reductions and new tickets
Improvements to well used bus stops in the city centre including Museum Street and Exhibition Square.
New electric buses on the Poppleton and Monks Cross park and ride services
Introduction of refurbished electric open-top buses on the City Sightseeing tour service
New services, such as the CityZap service between York and Leeds, and new vehicles and higher frequencies on some existing services
Introduction of a multi-operator “AllYork” ticket and a smartcard ticket
The introduction of two “Bus Wardens” and the bus enquiry desk at the Railway Station to help passengers

In the next six months there will be further improvements to the network, particularly opening improved bus interchanges at Stonebow and Rougier Street. New buses will also be introduced on Coastliner and EYMS services. FirstYork will be introducing new ticket machines across their network which will allow contactless payment. Over the next 12 months First will be introducing new buses on the Askham Bar, Rawcliffe Bar, Grimston Bar and Designer Outlet park and ride services as the new park and ride operating contract is introduced.
(more…)