West Yorkshire Combined Authority – York’s share of costs benefits revealed

A Freedom of Information response has revealed the amount that York has paid into the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, as well as the claimed benefits.

Last year, York paid £21,645 as its share of the cost of the “Your next Bus” project which we commented on a few weeks ago.  The City is due to pay another £21,645 this year towards the project.

smart ticketing

smart ticketing

 It is unclear when this new bus tracking system will be operational.

The WYCA also claims to have spent £318,149 on “smart bus ticketing” in the York area.  This was funded by central government grant and should lead to the extended use of cashless payment options for bus travel.  Again it is unclear when this option will be widely available in the City.

York is also due to pay £48,486 to the WYCA this year as its share of the Leeds Region Local Enterprise Partnership costs.

Benefits are expected to include participation in an “Apprentice Hub” programme and an employer ownership pilot.

The WYCA had a (largely inherited) pension liability of over £68 million at the end of the last financial year. It currently admits a total deficit on its reserves of £33 million but has a working balance of £7.9 million. It is not known whether, under devolution proposals, York will remain a participant in the WYCA.

NB. Over £150,000 a year in “special responsibility payments” are being claimed by Councillors serving on WYCA committees although these area not highlighted in the annual figures published by the York Council. All WYCA members receive a basic allowance of £4500 a year

Future of York’s Park & Ride service

Park and ride busesA new eight-year contract for York’s Park&Ride service, which attracts over 4.5million passengers annually, will be awarded next year following a procurement exercise which will commence shortly.

Ahead of this procurement process, a report examining the options for the delivery of the service after the end of the current contract in 2017 will be taken to an Executive meeting on 24 September.

To ensure that the most effective solutions for the service are presented to members for consideration, a comprehensive review of the existing operation and potential amendments has been undertaken.

This included a review of Park&Ride operations around the country, surveying the views of the service users, visiting other Park&Ride sites and undertaking pre-procurement engagement with potential suppliers of the service.

During the Executive meeting, members will be asked to consider approving the principles for the service and delivery, which will enable a new eight-year contract to be prepared.

Currently operated on behalf of the council by First York, the current eight-year contact will come to an end in February 2017.

A new contract will commence at the end of the current contract and be awarded in Spring 2016. This is in order to meet with the council’s own financial regulations, ensure best value and transparency in accordance with EU procurement legislation.

Find out more about York’s Park&Ride Service at www.itravelyork.info/buses

Executive will take place on Thursday 24 September at West Offices 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, visit:http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=733&MId=8841

York bus service reliability wobbles as York Council set to spend £7 million on transport

Hitherto reliable bus services like the number 4, which links Acomb to the City centre and the University beyond, have suffered a loss of reliability during recent days.

On the busesThe problems seem to have arisen since the changes to the timetables were introduced last month.

Checks – taken in the mid afternoon this week when congestion shouldn’t be a major issue – suggest that only about 40% of buses are now arriving on time*

This compares to an 80% reliability rate in the City reported in the lastest DpT “snapshot” survey recorded on their website.

First, and some other bus companies refuse, to release reliability figures although commendably Transdev – who now run the 44 link down Hamilton Drive – say they will release service reliability figures. This would bring them into line with train operating companies who release reliability figures each month.

They also operate a “mystery passenger” audit which they use to improve journey quality

The York Council used to check reliability and the quality of bus journeys in the City but this was ditched when Labour took control of the Council in 2011.

Since then they have relied on the computer system which generates “next bus due” information on mobile phone “apps” as well as on the signs at some bus stops. The contract for renewal of the service is currently being let. However the historic reliability information generated by a sub set of the system – cannot be released by the Council without the agreement of participating bus companies.

The York Council, will shortly agree how to spend around £7 million this year on improvements to the transport system in York.

Of this £1.6 million  will be spent on public transport improvements.

 £104,390 will go on “off bus ticket machines” which will be funded by West Yorkshire CA.

There is little in the programme for improvements to sub-urban bus stops. We continue to believe that busy suburban stops like Foxwood Lane should have a “next bus due” screen.

That would be doubly important if buses continue to run up to 30 minutes late.

*Up to 5 minutes after scheduled time or 1 minute before.

2015 transport investment

York shortlisted in the Low Carbon Champions awards

LowCVP-awards-logo_popup

City of York Council, First York Buses and Optare have been shortlisted in the Vehicle Operator category for the 2015 Low Carbon Champions awards.

The council, in partnership with First Bus York and bus manufacturer, Optare have been nominated after creating two fully electric Park&Ride routes.

New electric bus fleet

New electric bus fleet

A fleet of six buses were first introduced in June 2014 at the new Poppleton Bar Park&Ride site. This was then extended to include Monks Cross Park&Ride in May 2015.

The electric buses are helping to reduce CO2 emissions by 62 percent in real world operation according to First Bus data. The most recent data shows that when operating in service on York’s Park&Ride routes, the ‘Well to Wheel’ efficiency is 409g/km of Carbon emitted compared to a standard diesel Park&Ride bus at 1078g/km.

Cllr Ian Gillies, Executive Member for Transport and Planning, said: “I am delighted that the work that the council is carrying out in partnership with First York Buses and Optare is being recognised on a national scale. I hope we will be able to continue to build on this and help make York an even more sustainable city.”

Ben Gilligan, Managing Director of First York added, “We’re thrilled to be short-listed for a Low Carbon Champion Award which is recognition of the really positive impact of the electric vehicles in York. By working in partnership with City of York Council and Optare we’ve been able to provide a better environment for residents as well as continuing to deliver high quality, great value services.”

Enrico Vassallo, CEO, Optare, said, “I am delighted that our electric bus technology has been recognized and shortlisted for this prestigious industry award.  We continue to work with the LowCVP, DfT, SMMT, TfL, operators like First York and local authorities, such as the City of York Council to promote the uptake of electric vehicle technology and ensure sustained successful operation of these vehicles, whilst gaining data for the continued development of electric vehicles.”

The Carbon savings achieved through the operation of these buses complement the improvements in air quality delivered over and above Diesel bus operation, with harmful Particulate and Nitrogen Dioxide emissions reduced to zero.

The Low Carbon Champions Awards help to identify and promote examples of outstanding and innovative practice in accelerating the shift to lower carbon vehicles and fuels and reducing road transport emissions.

For more information on the Low Carbon Champions Awards, which are taking place on 9 September visit http://www.lowcvp.org.uk/news,shortlist-for-2015-low-carbon-champions-awards-reflects-innovation-in-green-transport_3302.htm

New contract for real time bus information in York

Rougier_St_RTI_Screen

Tenders for a new real time bus information system are currently being evaluated. A new contract, which replaces one last let in 2002, is being managed through the “West Yorkshire Combined Authority”.

Tenders were invited last year and evaluation is currently underway.

The contract provides real time information at bus stops. It is linked to (most) buses which operate in York. The information also feeds into (generally good) mobile phone apps 

The 2002 contract was worth around £400,000. When it expired in 2012, the York Council decided to pay £60,000 a year to continue to maintain the old system.

Although systems like these are also capable of providing weekly or monthly reliability statistics, the old Labour run authority refused to publicise this data.

The only guide to reliability in the City comes from an annual single day sample published by the Department of Transport. The last reported figure suggested that 80% of buses were running “on time”

The new Council has yet to announce its policy on the provision of public transport reliability and quality information.

Public transport users in York will not benefit from fuel price reductions

The media is reporting that First buses do not intend to reduce fares to reflect the 20% reduction seen in diesel costs.

Fuel price graph Aug 2015

Pump prices have fallen from a high of 150 pence per litre to just 112 ppl in York this week. The downward trend in diesel prices has been significant and sustained since First last increased their prices.

In some cases such as  season tickets prices will actually increase.

The decision mirrors that of the taxi trade which declined to pass on the benefits of lower fuel prices to customers earlier in the year.

Yesterday the government announced that regulated rail fares would increase by 1% in January. A study has suggested that regulated fare prices jumped 25% between 2010 and 2015, while average pay rose 9% over the same period.

Unfortunately there is currently no independent organisation in York lobbying on behalf of public transport users. The Council’s scrutiny committee pointedly ignores the subject of public transport costs and punctuality.

Bus users get boost in York but still no reliability information being published

We can recommend the updated bus app for mobiles. It now has a facility to report problems with bus stops 

click to access

click to access

With a new team in power at the Council, we will be renewing our calls for quality of service and reliability statistics to be made available each month.

At the moment the Council only passes on the data – which is collected automatically by route monitoring systems – for publication on a national web site once a year.

The last published figure – which is a snapshot – revealed that 1 in 5 buses were not running on time in the City.

While most bus users are mainly interested in when their next bus will arrive, the absence of the kind of bus service performance information routinely published by train companies, is a glaring omission for public transport users in York.

The last Labour Council discontinued the “mystery traveller” checks undertaken before 2011.

Since then ,there has been no sytematic independent checks on bus service quality in the City.

Bus service changes from Sunday

York bus service chnages 2nd Aug 2015

Significant changes to many of York’s bus services come into force on Sunday

Change Date Service No. Operator Brief summary of changes
01/08/15 44 Transdev (Unibus) Revised route: University (Hes. East Interchange) – York Station – Hamilton Drive – Acomb
02/08/15 1 First Minor timetable changes.
02/08/15 4 First Revised route: Acomb – Foxwood – City Centre – Tang Hall – Osbaldwick – University (Heslington East)
02/08/15 5
5A		 First Revised route: Strensall – York – Poppleton Road – Beckfield Lane – Acomb
02/08/15 6 First Revised route: Clifton Moor – City Centre (Station Rd).
02/08/15 10 First Revised route: Poppleton – Leeman Rd – City Centre – Stamford Bridge
02/08/15 10 Transdev Revised route: Poppleton – Leeman Rd – City Centre – Stamford Bridge
02/08/15 12
14		 First Minor timetable changes.
02/08/15 13
13A		 First Cancelled.
02/08/15 13 ConnexionsBuses Copmanthorpe to Haxby (West Nooks) via City Centre.
02/08/15 66 First New route: York Station – York Sport Village via University (Heslington Hall).
02/08/15 HB1 Transdev Cancelled.
02/08/15 HB1 First University of York – York Hospital.
23/08/15 CB2 Transdev Cancelled.
30/08/15 944 Coastliner New route: Crossgates – Tadcaster – York College
21/09/15 56 First New route: University of York – City Centre circular.
28/09/15 UB1 Transdev Cancelled.
28/09/15 UB1 First University of York campus shuttle service

New Green Lane/Tudor Road/Hamilton Drive/Piccadilly bus service

Transdev have launched a new bus service link from Acomb to the University via Piccadilly. It is a summer only (University vacation) amendment to their number 44 service and will provide a half hourly frequency.

The timetable can be downloaded by clicking here

First recently announced that they were scrapping their 13A service via Hamilton Drive.

Later the Council vowed to step in and fill the gap although it is now less clear what the long term plans are for bus services in the Hamilton Drive area.

Although during term time the 44 “unibus” is mainly aimed at York University students, anyone can use the service.

Green Lane to University bus timetable click to enlarge

Green Lane to University bus timetable click to enlarge

University to Green Lane bus timetable click to enlarge

University to Green Lane bus timetable click to enlarge