A meeting next week will consider whether several subsidised bus services in the City should be continued. The issues being considered are:
• Re-tendering of routes 21 (Colton–Acaster Malbis–Askham Bar–York) and 35 (Holme on Spalding Moor–Wheldrake–York).
• The future of two services procured on an ‘emergency’ basis that commenced operation on 7th October2012. These are routes 14 (Beckfield Lane–Boroughbridge Road–York) and 15 (South Bank–Bishopthorpe Road–York).
• The future of routes 24 and 26 (Askham Bar– Acomb Leeman Road–York-Fordlands Road, Fulford). These services currently enjoy a £155,000 a year York Council subsidy and are provided by Coastliner.
The Council will also decide how to respond to four petitions lodged concerning First Group’s commercially operated bus network:
• Route 5 (Strensall–Huntington–York–Acomb) from Huntington residents;
• Route 12 (Woodthorpe–Tadcaster Road–York–Heworth–Monks Cross) from Woodthorpe and Dringhouses residents who were conc erned about reliability;
• Route 13 (Copmanthorpe–Tadcaster Road–York–Haxby– West Nooks) – two petitions have been received, one from Copmanthorpe residents, the other from Haxby residents.
The indications are that services 21 (which includes a loop through the Middlethorpe estate) and 35 will continue while the 15 service to South Bank may be modified (providing a 60 minute frequency).
The report singularly fails to address the issue of whether the new tenders should include a requirement that the successful renderer should publish reliability data on their services.
Proposed routes for routes 24, 25 and 27 Click to enlarge
Official are recommending that the Council subsidy on service 14 (Sundays and/or early evening) is withdrawn because of poor usage. The 14 currently provides the only direct link to the new York Sports Village on Hull Road and is the only service on Beckfield Lane.
It is likely that route 26 which serves St Stephens Road and Route 26 (Kingsway West/Ascot Way) will be modified (see left)
Consultation with users is promised
NB. The City of York and surrounds benefit from a comprehensive network of bus services, a majority of which (80%+) are operated without subsidy from the Council. All of the bus routes in York are operated by private sector companies who are free to decide how they will run any services not requiring financial support. This includes the freedom to set the bus route, where the bus will stop, the timetable and fares charged