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Flooding in York update – bus services affected

YORK bus service diversions due to flooding .

First have announced that due to flooding, the following services are diverted. Delays are likely.
• Service 7 diverting via A64 and Tadcaster Road, Fulford Road is being served by a shuttle bus.
• Service 3 & 4 (Skeldergate is closed) diversion via Nunnery Lane
• Service 10 diverting via Ebor Way in Poppleton.

Arriva 415/6 is using Hull Road into York as Fulford Road is closed due to flooding. Service 42 has no service in York

River levels have stabilised and are expected to fall gradually over the next 24 hours.

Saturday bus services operating in York

Saturday frequency bus services are operating in York and North Yorkshire today and tomorrow.

There are some exceptions; see http://getdown.org.uk/bus/xmas.shtml

Government bails out York transport again as chaos hits bus services

The Coalition government has announced the third big slice of funding for York’s ailing transport system in less than a year. Hard on the heels of a £20 million grant for 2 new park and ride sites, plus around £4 million for a sustainable transport initiative, the government has agreed to put £2.9 million into improving public transport systems. These are huge sums of money at a time when the economy is still weak and the Council needs to ensure that the investment is prudently managed and that residents are fully consulted about the proposed use of the funds.

The move means that York can now expect to get the cashless “smartcard” payment system that was trialled in South Yorkshire 3 years ago. We have no doubt that – everything else being equal – the convenience of this system would boost bus usage in the City.

What is markedly less convincing is the Councils intention to borrow £1.6 million which it will spend smartening up City Centre bus stops. The taxpayer simply can’t afford this kind of expenditure at a time when key public services are being cut. The 56% reduction in highways maintenance, which will be bad news for pedestrians and cyclists, has still not been adequately justified by the Council leadership.

Residents are also angry about the way that road works on Blossom Street have increased some bus journey times by as much as 1 hour. As usual the Council – and particularly the lethargic Labour Councillors representing affected wards – failed to manage this contract effectively and with minimal disruption.

News that the 20 conductors – who were used on the number 4 bus service – have now been sacked by First means that this service will be subject to further delays as drivers struggle to issue tickets on what is the busiest route on the York bus network. Services should have been left as they were until the smartcard had been introduced and a modern, low emission, bus procured for use on the route.

Proposed changes to York Sunday bus services 112 & 113

Click to enlarge

Major changes are planned to the Sunday bus services which provide links to Copmanthorpe, Bishopthorpe and Skelton. This results from the decision by Coastliner to discontinue their 112 and 113 services.

The Council are proposing to subsidise 3 new services one of which would route down Tadcaster Road.

The Council propose the following option for Sunday services in place of the existing services on routes 112 and 113:
• Provision of an hourly service between Bishopthorpe and the city centre via South Bank on the same route as the weekday route 11.
• Provision of an hourly service between Copmanthorpe and the city centre on the same route as the weekday route 13.
• Provision of an hourly service between Skelton and the city centre on the same route as the weekday route 19.
• No direct services between Skelton, Clifton Moor, Wigginton, Haxby and Monks Cross.
• No services before 10.00 or after 19.00 on these routes.

Comments on the new arrangements by emailing transport.planning@york.gov.uk or writing to Paul Brand, City of York Council, 9 St Leonard’s Place, YORK, YO1 7ET. Please ensure that your comments are received by 2 March 2012.

It is likely that any new routes and services will begin in summer 2012

Bus subsidies for hospital and Community Stadium services

A government subsidy of £83,000 is to be used to support to bus service links in the City

Rawcliffe Bar Park and Ride – Hospital

This service has run into financial difficulties as bus patronage fell during the pandemic. The service is used by staff and patients to access the Hospital, while avoiding congestion and parking charges, in the Wigginton Road area. The subsidy only lasts until the end of March 2021 so what happens to the service after that is unclear.

Originally it was hoped that the link would reduce car usage in and near the City centre.

Community Stadium

Tonight sees what may be the first game for York City at the Community Stadium.

It will be a behind closed doors event.

With the National League North likely to be abandoned before the end of the month, it may also prove to be the last football match there until late summer.

£63,000 has been allocated for new bus service links to the stadium. Although there would be little point in introducing such links while the ban on spectators remains, they would be a welcome addition when things return to “normal”.

Hopefully the government will extend the availability of the subsidy so it can be used during the 2021/22 financial year.

The first to benefit may be York Knights fans who hope that limited attendances might be permitted during the latter part of their campaign which starts in March.

York businesses asked for feedback on Public Protection services

City of York Council is asking businesses which use or would like to use its Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing services, how they’d like to see them develop.

Click to take part

These Public Protection services deliver a number of the council’s regulatory duties which include hygiene inspections of restaurants, take-aways and other food premises, as well as ensuring that health and safety requirements are met, and that businesses comply with pollution control measures.

Trading Standards are part of these services; its work ensures that businesses trade fairly with consumers and the products they supply are safe, while Licensing services address the controlled sale of alcohol, and issue street trading, taxi and a variety of animal licenses.

The survey asks questions about the speed of teams’ response times and invites any other feedback on the service from enforcement, business advice and support services.
Businesses are asked to respond to the survey before 31 December 2015.

The survey is at https://www.york.gov.uk/consultations and scroll to Public Protection Review. Also at this link is a survey asking businesses questions on working with the council.

A survey on making York a more “business friendly Council” closes on 20th November. Click here to take part

Bus use in York stable but fears for subsidised services grow

Some park and ride sites to operate free service on Boxing Day

Labour Councillors have announced that they will be considering reducing subsidised bus services in the City at a meeting which will be held on 11^th December.

Labour were criticised during the recent Westfield by election for keeping secret their plans to reduce services like the number 13A which serves the Hamilton Drive area.

There has so far been no consultation on the proposals which will seek to reduce the annual £800,000 spend by the Council on sustaining off peak bus services and those to remoter parts of the City.

The latest crisis reflects problems which started to develop when Labour took control of the Council in 2011.

They concentrated their efforts on scrapping the popular (with passengers) ftr service but failed to put anything in its place. Routes were chopped and changed with stability only achieved during the last 12 months.

Now even that seems to be under threat.

Bus service usage peaked at 12 million passenger journeys with the introduction of the ftr in 2006 before declining last year to 10.4 million.

Overall bus usage has held up with a gradual increase in the numbers using Park and Ride services which themselves peaked last year at 4.4 million.

Further increases are expected this year with the opening of the larger Askham Bar site and the new service from Poppleton Bar.

NB. The Council has announced it’s Christmas Park and Ride services.

A late night shopping service on all six Park&Ride routes will operate every Thursday, with the last bus leaving the city centre on all routes at around 9.30pm (for exact timings visit http://www.itravelyork.info/).

The first extended service will run from the 20 November ahead of the biggest Christmas market in York’s calendar – St Nicholas Fair starting on 27 November.

In addition to this, passengers will also be able to take advantage again of the, now traditional, FREE travel on Boxing Day on the three key P&R routes which will be operating.

Three Park & Ride services will operate on Boxing Day:

Askham Bar (white line – route 3) – First bus at 7am from the site, last bus back from Tower Street at 6.42pm
Designer Outlet (red line – route 7) – First bus at 7am from the site, last bus back from Rougier Street at 6.40pm
Monks Cross (silver line – route 9) – First bus at 7am from the site, last bus back from Rougier Street at 6.43pm

All three services will operate at a 15 minute frequency throughout the day and will be FREE for all passengers (and will stop at all usual stops along the route).

To find out more about the offer or to find the best bus route through York, try out the council’s new i-Travel York online Journey Planner at http://www.itravelyork.info/

First to run new Park and Ride services. Government funds electric buses

First has been awarded York’s Park & Ride (P&R) contract for a further three years.

Working in partnership with the council, First York has successfully operated all five P&R sites for more than 15 years and will continue to do so for another three years.

In addition, one of the city’s principle bus companies has now also been signed-up to operate the new P&R site at Poppleton, which is set to open in 2014.

Vehicles used in York eco bus trial in 2010

As part of the new agreement First will be operating a new electric bus service from the new 600-vehicle facility at Poppleton Bar, which is set to open in Spring 2014. The purchase of the buses has been part funded through the Coalition Government’s Green Bus fund, which awarded £594k to First in May.

Six electric buses are set to be deployed on the York Park & Ride network, though a bid submitted by First York. The new buses will provide cleaner and greener bus journeys for thousands of passengers across the city.
(more…)

York Council plans for “Back to the Bus” recovery

Following publication of a National Bus Strategy on 15th March, a report will be taken to City of York Council’s next Executive on 20th May.

The report will set out how the council will support a flourishing network of bus services as York recovers from the pandemic.

The new guidance from the Department for Transport asks local authorities to set up an enhanced partnership with operators to improve services and ensure we build back better. If the report taken to Executive on 20 May 2021 is endorsed, the council will begin to develop a plan to improve the network in conjunction with operators and stakeholders. An early focus is likely to be on how new types of ticketing can be introduced to make it easier and cheaper to travel on any bus in the city. Other work will include improving the information available to passengers, improving passenger representation within the bus partnership and how measures to make bus services faster and more punctual can be introduced in York.

Bus services have been significantly impacted by the pandemic. In spring 2020 the number of people travelling by bus fell to around 10% of pre-covid levels. However, passenger volumes in York are now approaching 50% of the level they were in 2019, and there is an expectation of further recovery as restrictions change later this month.

The National Bus Strategy requires councils and operators across England to form an enhanced partnership with operators by July 2021 or risk losing the covid relief funding which is being paid to keep bus services running whilst passenger numbers are suppressed during the pandemic. Councils must then develop and publish a plan to improve services by October 2021. The Bus Service Improvement Plan will form part of York’s fourth Local Transport Plan and could potentially be used to bid for additional funds from central government – for example to continue the process of electrifying York’s bus network or support lower fares.

Options for the provision of bus services in York include developing the existing quality bus partnership – which is voluntary – into an enhanced partnership (which would be contractual) or franchising bus services. These options will be carefully considered as part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

The work being undertaken is funded initially by a one-off grant of £100,000 which the Department for Transport has paid to all local transport authorities in England. It is proposed that a further report is bought to Executive in September 2021, setting out the detail and contents of York’s Bus Service Improvement Plan.

Council seeks innovative proposals to support local businesses and communities

Image result for build something new gifs The City of York Council is seeking bids from organisations wishing to access funding from the £220m UK Community Renewal Fund.

City of York Council has been chosen by the Government as the lead authority for the York area and is inviting bids which will support communities, local businesses, create new jobs and support people into employment.

As a lead authority, the council is responsible for receiving bids, selecting the bids that will be sent to the Government for consideration and paying grants to successful projects as well as managing their performance.

The fund has been designed to help support local areas to pilot innovative new approaches and programmes that unleash their potential

Projects proposals are encouraged from all areas of York and should align with local priorities. Proposals should also align with the programme themes:

investment in skills – work based training; retraining, upskilling or reskilling; digital skills and inclusion
investment for local business – support for new job opportunities; innovation potential; supporting decarbonisation measures
investment in communities and place – feasibility for net zero and energy; promoting culture led regeneration and community development; improving green spaces and preserving local assets; promoting rural connectivity
supporting people into employment – engagement with local services; addressing barriers to gaining employment; developing basic skills; testing what works in helping people into work

The Government has introduced the fund as it prepares for the launch of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2022, which will replace EU Structural and Investment Funds.

Successful Community Renewal Fund bids will be for 2021-22 only and projects must be completed by the end of March 2022.

Applicants should note that York is not classed as one of the Government’s 100 ‘priority places’ across the UK. As such, The City of York Council is particularly interested in project proposals that are ambitious, offering fresh ideas.

The deadline for submitting applications is 16 May. The City of York Council will then produce a shortlist of projects for submission to the Government.

The UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus provides more information on the fund, including assessment criteria.

Further information can be found here.

Councillor Andrew Waller, Executive Member for Economy and Strategic Planning said:

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