Buses will be a 'priority' in York, declares city transport boss

The aim is to increase bus passenger numbers by 50 per cent in the next few years, so as to reduce congestion and cut carbon emissions.

Speaking at a ‘bus-briefing’ for local media today, council bosses outlined a series of improvements to bus services in the city - some of which have already begun to take effect - to be paid for with the help of more than £27 million of government funding.

They include an entirely new fleet of 53 electric buses, paid for by means of £10.2 million from the Department of Transport and a £13 million investment from First. As reported in The Press, the first of the new buses are already on York’s streets, and by next Spring, First’s entire York fleet will be electric.

First York MD Andrew Cullen, left, and Cllr Claire Douglas launching the first electric buses in the city's new electric fleet last month (Image: First York)

But the council is also planning a major programme of fare subsidies and bus route and infrastructure improvements, all paid for out of a further £17.3 million of Bus Service Improvement (BSIP) funds received from the Department for Transport under the previous administration last year.

As reported in the Press recently, the BSIP funding means the council can continue to subsidise early morning, evening and weekend services on key First York bus routes - including the 1,2A, 4, 6,10 and 10A – through until January. This will cost the authority £12,000 a month – though in the longer-term First will be encouraged to continue the routes on a commercial basis.

Other fare subsidies include: -

• half price family bus fares introduced over the summer, along with a scheme allowing accompanied children to travel free. This has already seen a surge in bus use by families, the council says 
• A trial £1 flat-rate fee for a single journey for all young people travelling alone, just launched

Plans for improvements to bus routes and infrastructure, meanwhile, include: -

• Upgrades to bus stops, to include more ‘real-time information screens’ -
• New bus ‘priority measures’ – presumably including more bus lanes -
• Upgrading Park & Ride sites so that they become ‘multi-modal hubs’ which allow connections to long-distance bus services plus local connections to car clubs, electric bikes and scooters and hired bikes. The council also hopes to allow overnight parking for passengers who want to spend more time in the city.

Cllr Kilbane said City of York Council was determined to increase bus passenger numbers by 50 per cent – from 40,000 to 60,000 a day – so as to ease congestion and meet ambitious zero-carbon targets.

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He said the planned bus improvements would go hand-in hand with a major review of the city’s bus network, which will consult with passengers, user groups and others to find ways of making the network more efficient.

The council will also, later this year, be launching a  city-wide consultation on a new Local Transport Strategy, which will aim to make public transport a priority.

Cllr Kilbane said: “We need to increase bus travel in York by 50 per cent. The only way to do that is by making the bus network and bus services affordable, pleasant and efficient.

“Bus passengers are heroes of climate change. We need to do all that we can to support them, by freeing up roads to prioritise public transport.”

The council’s head of active and sustainable transport, Michael Howard, added: “The targets are ambitious. Stability of the bus network is key to achieving them.”