NUMBER 13A BUS ROUTE GETS LIFELINE

Reports are coming in that the Council may continue the 13A bus service after First stop running it at the end of July.

This would allow time for a full review of subsidised bus routes during the autumn by the new Council Executive.

Westfield LibDem Councillors had passed on residents concern about the threatened axing of this route to First and to the Council.

Options for continuing the service to this area might include re-routing other subsidised services. This would avoid passengers – many of whom are elderly – having to walk long distances.

It is anticipated that the re-introduction of two way routes along Tudor Road and Green Lane would also form part of any service review.

At the moment the number 4 bus service only travels clockwise round the Green Lane/Tudor Road loop.

The decision on the 13A was taken behind closed doors with no pre-meeting agenda or background papers published. The new Council will rapidly lose credibility if it doesn’t become more open and shed the mistakes of the past …..and quickly.

First York to scrap number 13A bus service

First York have announced changes to bus services which they will implement from the beginning of August.

The number 13 and 13A services will be scrapped.

The latter provides the only link to the City centre from the Hamilton Drive area and is likely to lead to calls for the Council to substitute a tendered service. There are a lot of elderly people living in the area served by the 13A.

First say that Harrogate Coach Travel will run a replacement which may mitigate the loss of the 13 Haxby to Copmanthorpe (via Tadcaster Road) service but details are awaited.

The announcement comes only hours after First announced that it would be running 9 buses an hour (!) between the Railway Station and the University. The number 4 already provides 8 buses an hour. The combined service would provide a theoretical frequency of one every 3 minutes (and is probably the nearest thing to continuous public transport short of a conveyor belt!!).

Of course, York’s’ traffic conditions will mean that buses on this route are likely to “bunch” so frequencies in practice may be much less than promised by the timetable.

First have said that they intend to re-route the number 4 at the University end but no details have as yet been made available.

Another major change affecting Acomb concerns the route of Service 5 which will be revised to run via Boroughbridge Road, Beckfield Lane and Ostman Road to serve more of north Acomb (instead of Carr Lane and Woodlea Avenue).

According to First, the proposed changes are:

Service 1 (Chapelfields – Wigginton) revised timetable to improve reliability
Service 4 (Acomb – University of York) revised route to the University
Service 5/5A (Acomb – Strensall) revised route between Station Rise & Boroughbridge Rd (via current 10 route). In Acomb service 5 will be revised to run via Boroughbridge Road, Beckfield Lane and Ostman Road in both directions omitting Carr Lane and Woodlea Avenue.
– Service 6 (Clifton Moor – City) frequency increase to every 10mins from 12mins (Mon-Fri only) to meet demand. Revised route to the City with the University link now provided by service 4
– Service 10/10A (Nether Poppleton – Stamford Bridge) rerouted between Rougier Street and Boroughbridge Road via the current route of services 5/5A serving National Railway Museum, Leeman Road, Salisbury Road and Water End. In Stamford Bridge services 10/10A will operate in a one way clockwise loop from The Square via Main Street, Burton Fields Road, Battlefields Way, Moor Road, Church Road, High Catton Road, Roman Avenue North, Roman Avenue South, High Catton Road and Church Road to The Square and then current route back towards the City Centre
Service 12 (Foxwood Lane – Monks Cross) revised timetable to improve reliability with an extra earlier journey from Elmfield Ave at 0643 and an extra later journey from the Stonebow at 1751
The current service 13/13A Copmanthorpe/Acomb/Haxby will be withdrawn due to low demand (customers will be able to use new service 13 between Haxby & Copmanthorpe provided by Harrogate Coach Travel Ltd.

NB. The Council announced last week that bus use in the City had reached a high of 15.6 million journeys last year. Most of these will have been generated by the new Park and Ride sites although the Council has so far declined to reveal the numbers using stage carriage services.

Changes to the 13a Acomb bus service

The Council has announced that the 13A bus service – which provides a link from Tudor Road, Front Street and Green Lane to the City centre via Holly Bank – may be scrapped.

The service was only introduced about 12 months ago and had been criticised by residents in Tudor Road for only providing a one way link to essential services in the Front Street area.

There was no prior consultation with passengers about the threat to end the service.

We understand that, from Monday 29 September, the 13a Acomb to York bus service will be subsidised by the York Council.

Ominously the Council also says

“The council is currently in the process of reviewing its portfolio of subsidised bus services in order to deliver significant savings in this area for 2015/16, which was agreed at the Budget Council in February.

A consultation on all bus services in York will start soon and more details will follow shortly. However, until this review has been finalised, the council will continue to subsidies the 13a until it considers where savings need to be made across the city”.

The move followed a decision by First York to review the operation of the hourly 13a bus service to Acomb due to low usage.

First apparently claim that there are insufficient numbers to run the 13a service on a commercial basis.

The council has agreed to continue financing the operation of this service, at around £1,000 per week from the council’s transport budget. This will provide a 13a service for customers operated by First on behalf of the council.

We think that another operator would be able to provide the service for a much lower subsidy and would expect the Council to advertise the contract quickly and take the opportunity to address the concerns of Tudor Road residents.

From Monday the majority of the 13a service will operate as per the current timetable although the following journeys will no longer be in operation:

7.15am: Acomb – York Station
7.54am: York Station – Acomb
4.57pm: Acomb – York Station
5.36: York Station – Acomb
6pm: Acomb – York Station

Previous 13a journeys between York & Haxby will continue to be operated by First but will be renumbered 13.

For further information on bus service changes and for bus timetables, visit www.itravelyork.info/buses, call 01904 551400 or visit the Bus Information Point in the Travel Centre at York Station.