York Libraries have a updated web site. Worth a visit.

Click here http://tinyurl.com/York-Libraries

The bus improvement study reports have now been published by the Council on their web site and can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/York-bus-study

Passenger views by area click to enlarge

As reported yesterday, the Council’s long awaited – and very expensive – Bus Improvement Study says the City should rely on existing structures to improve bus service arrangements in York.
So the “Bus Partnership” will continue. No recommendations are made for its meetings to be held in public. Nor are any proposals made for independent monitoring of service reliability (one of the main criticisms of passengers in a public opinion survey undertaken to support the study).

How York's buses compare clck to enlarge

So transparency is still not on Labour’s agenda for York.

The report was considered by a single Labour Councillor (Cllr Merrett) in a behind closed doors decision session yesterday morning.

The secrecy has been condemned by Liberal Democrat Councillors who are calling for the full report to be published on the Council’s web site.

The results of a survey of passengers, revealed a higher level of satisfaction with bus services in the City than might have been expected. This, and stable passenger numbers, proved to be the death knell for those hoping to introduce a “franchise” system into the City. To do so they would have had to prove that existing arrangements were “failing”.

The study concluded that there are no insurmountable barriers to providing consistently good bus services in the City, that performance was about average when compared to other similar City’s as were fare levels.

Bus fare comparisons clcick to enlarge

Recommendations included the introduction of a smart (go anywhere) payment card (which has been planned for the last 5 years), reducing the number of buses on the City Centre to York University route (which is regarded as being “over bussed” with 12 buses an hour) and that “Park and Ride “services should be integrated into the rest of the bus network (likely to be highly controversial with commuters who depend on a fast link into the City Centre).

The report also makes the usual genuflection towards the provision of a “bus station” naming the long stay car park next to the station as the preferred site (when the Queens Street Bridge has been demolished). The report however fails to avoid the usual pitfalls of such a plan; not least the costs of provision and maintenance of such a facility and the impact that routing all buses via the station would have on highways congestion.

Alternatives to using buses click to enlarge

The report has many weaknesses. It fails to address problems with sub-urban bus stops where “next bus due” screens are thin on the ground. It doesn’t mention the need to use GPS monitoring systems to avoid “bunching” and, of course, fails to recognise the need for public “real time” reliability information. No priority is given to the need for investment in modern buses. The last major investment in fleet modernisation in York, other than for Park and Ride services, was the ill fated ftr in 2006.

The Council will have to work very hard to get the support of passengers and the government for investment in a plan which seems to rely too much on further increases to City centre car parking charges as a way of forcing people onto the bus service.

Public views on bus facilities clcik to enlarge

This week the Lord Mayor of York and the Civic Party will be helping to prepare the Mansion House for Christmas, by taking part in a Victorian Christmas decoration workshop.

The civic party will be joined by members of the Mansion House team and volunteers on Wednesday 21 November to make traditional Victorian decorations, under the expert guidance of historian Louise Hampson.

The decorations will adorn the public rooms in York’s famous home to capture how it would have looked in the late Victorian period – and will be open for all to see during St Nicholas Fayre (starting on 29 November).

The Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Keith Hyman, said: “I’m really looking forward to sharing the Mansion House with visitors in the build up to Christmas.”
The Mansion House will be open from Thursday 29 November throughout the Fayre weekend from 10am to 4pm.

Entrance to see the Mansion House in all its Christmas splendour is £5.00 for adults, £4.00 for concessions and £2.50 for York residents with a valid YorkCard. Entrance includes a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie.

Labour have today abandoned their plans to introduce a “Quality Contract” system of bus franchising into the City. They have finally accepted that such a scheme is neither practical nor affordable.

click to enlarge

Instead bus services will continue to be provided by the existing bus companies although some attempt is going to be made to improve coordination arrangements.

They are hoping that the Government will provide funding for a “Better Bus Area Fund” but it seems unlikely that such funding would be made available unless the Council and bus companies both agree in future to make performance information available to passengers.

It was only last week that the Council refused to release usage information about their flagship “all York” bus ticket.

More on this story to come later.

York becomes the first UK council to adopt pioneering new archive cataloguing technique

York has become the first City in the UK to adopt a pioneering technique that will create the first digital catalogue of a unique 800 year old civic archives in record time.

The project archivist is taking on the ambitious task of cataloguing the archives using a method never used before in the UK on city records – to carry out the project in just 15 months, whereas traditionally it could take up to 10 years.

The behind-the-scenes project blog is at http://citymakinghistory.wordpress.com

(more…)

Residents have until 12th December to “sign” a petition on the Councils web site. See http://tinyurl.com/Social-care-cuts-petition

The petition reads;

We the undersigned petition the council to not cut funding for those classed as having moderate needs. It was made clear during the last budget consultation that the citizens of York do not want funding cuts to social care. We believe that those who require this support, such as older residents, those with physical and learning disabilities, victims of domestic violence and people with other health needs should not be further disadvantaged. Voluntary alternatives to professional and paid support will lead to lower standards and potential job losses.

35 residents have so far signed the petition

The York Council – already a legend in its own time for trying to conceal information from residents – has hit a new high.

They are now publishing their plans in French.

No, not a translation, just in French.

We are told on their web site that the Cabinet will make a decision on 4th December about “Le marché International des Professionnels de l’immobilier (MIPIM) 2013”

Precisely what decision they will make about – rough translation – “The International Market for real estate professionals” remains to be seen, but this organisation does meet every year in Cannes.

They dole out prizes to building projects.

Surely not another foreign trip on the agenda?

Residents should be told!

The Council is set tomorrow to agree to half the number of taxi spaces provided at the rank in Piccadilly.

They plan to install cycle parking facilities in the space that is freed up.

The Council claims that the 4 taxi bays are little used and “not popular with the public”.

No consultation on the proposal has taken place.

In the past the taxi trade has pointed to inadequate City centre taxi ranks as one of their reasons for opposing any increase in the number of taxi licenses issued in the City.

We understand that a Council report on the future of bus services in the City is to be considered on Monday at a “behind closed doors” meeting. This seems to be an unusual approach as the Councillor, with responsibility for transport issues in the City, is also holding a public “decision session” on the same day.

There are few topics which engage public interest more than bus services. Passengers are likely to be angry if they think that decisions are being taken behind their backs.

The report – titled a “bus improvement study” in the Council’s forward plan – has already been delayed for 3 months. It was to have been published in the summer.

Labour has budgeted over £200,000 for studies which they hope could lead to the introduction of a “statutory bus contract” arrangement in the City. Effectively this would mean the Council setting standards (frequencies, routes, fare levels etc) for bus routes in the City with operators tendering to provide the service.

The need for (and practicality of) such an arrangement has been called into question given that – unlike other parts of the country – bus use in the City is stable. The Councils weak financial position means that it is unlikely to be able to subsidise any new arrangements.

Regrettably the delay in publishing the report has also been used as an excuse by the Authority to avoid publishing the data that it holds on bus service reliability. These at least should become public on Monday.

The Council is still refusing to say how many of the “All York” tickets, that they launched in the summer, have been sold. There is a growing concern that, despite £20,000 of taxpayers money being used to subsidise the launch of the ticket, sales have been very poor.