Bus terminus to be moved from Front Street to reduce traffic congestion. Bus will wait on Acomb Green
First say the changes are being made to improve the reliability and punctuality of services
The 5 service will now terminate at Acomb Green rather than Front Street (to reduce congestion problems)
New timetables are available here.
Details below
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The Adult Single fare to the City Centre will remain at £2, but Park & Ride return fares won’t be available and MinsterCards won’t be valid to/from this stop.
For customers making a return journey, the FirstDay ticket is priced at £3.70 can be used across the whole York network.
This compares to the £2 – 70 standard return Park and Ride fare (which will remain available for anyone willing and able to walk the extra 600 yards along Tadcaster Road to the new car park).
It seems that although this bus stop is now being treated as part of the normal “stage carriage” network, pensioners will also not enjoy free travel. We understand that they will have to continue to pay the standard 80p per journey.
It seems irrational that passengers joining the service at this stop – and using what would otherwise be vacant seats – will be charged more for what will be a shorter journey than those who joined the service at Askham Bar!
Askham Bar bus waiting area
The sculpture, a medieval stone window in a brick surround, depicts the heritage of the city as the site is situated on the original roman road leading to the gateway to the City of York.
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With millions expected to line the route of the Tour de France this weekend, First is putting in place the final preparations for the local bus and Park&Ride network around York on Sunday 6 July.
Bus stuck during previous TdF race
Due to road closures some routes will also need to be diverted or altered and customers are encouraged to plan well ahead by visiting firstgroup.com/tourdefrance for all the details. Details of changes to routes, stops and services can also be seen around the city centre on notices at bus stops and information displayed on real time screens.
As a result of the route taken by the race, First’s cross-city services will be split and some will be diverted with buses starting and finishing at one of three bus hubs, Fishergate, Hungate & the Station.
First has worked closely with City of York Council to also provide more Park & Ride journeys with services starting from 6am – three and a half hours earlier than on a normal Sunday. In addition, Askham Bar, Grimston Bar and Rawcliffe Bar Park & Ride sites will open from 4am to allow people to arrive early.
Park&Ride sites provide services every 10 minutes with great value fares (returns costing £2.70 from the terminal to the city centre, with up to 2 children travelling free with each adult). More information is available yorkparkandride.co.uk. Due to the route taken by the race the Poppleton Bar Park&Ride will not be operating on Sunday 6th July..
First is also providing extra buses across the York network on existing routes providing more capacity and allowing for slightly longer journeys in some cases to take into account diversions and additional road traffic. Many services will also start earlier on the morning of Sunday 6 July to accommodate the extra demand.
As well as additional driving roles, First staff will be working across the network and behind the scenes to ensure the event is a success. First is also preparing spare buses ready at key locations across Yorkshire to meet any other transport requirements.
Additional late evening services will operate on the Monks Cross Park & Ride on Friday 4th July to cater for the ‘Grand Departy’ concert at Huntington Stadium. The last bus back to the City will depart from Monks Cross Park & Ride site at 11.30pm. Services will run as normal on Saturday 5 July and Monday 7th July.
Customers are encouraged to keep in touch with travel updates over the weekend by using twitter on @YorkTravel
Will Pearson, Business Manager of First in York added: The Tour de France, Grand Depart is a fabulous opportunity to showcase Yorkshire and we’ve worked closely with partners including City of York Council to support our existing bus network and introduce extra services to help transport existing and new customers. There will be some disruption to the bus network but by planning ahead customers can find out what alternatives are available and ensure they enjoy this
Leeman Road will be closed from Monday 16th June at 0900 to Friday 20th June until 1800
Buses will divert as follows –
Service 2 Rawcliffe Bar Park & Ride Green Line
From Water End bus stop continues along Water End non stop along Poppleton Road, Holgate Road, Blossom Street, Queen Street, Station Road to Station Avenue, then on normal route to Rawcliffe Bar.
Service 5/5A
To Strensall: After Boroughbridge (Malvern Avenue stop), buses will continue non stop along Poppleton Road, Holgate Road, Blossom
Street, Queen Street, Station Road to Station Avenue, then normal route to Strensall.
From Strensall: After Station Road, buses will continue non stop along Station Road, Queen Street, Blossom Street, Holgate Road,
Poppleton Road to Boroughbridge Road (Malvern Avenue stop), then normal route to Acomb.
Askham Bar cycle parking in use
The new Askham Bar park and ride site on Tadcaster Road has proved to be popular with drivers.
Many have transferred from the, now closed, site adjacent to Tesco – making the most of the additional spaces now available.
At 11:00am today a small queue of bus passengers had formed.
However work on the site has still not been completed.
Official estimates say that it could be another 2 weeks before all the work is done.
Well used car park at Askham Bar
Still the Council were right to bring the site into service as soon as practical. It has reduced the number of vehicles on Tadcaster Road and buses are taking advantage of the reduced congestion to run into the City centre more quickly.
The situation at the other new site at Poppleton Bar couldn’t be a bigger contrast.
Fewer than 100 vehicles were using the car park there this morning.
A substantial amount of work needs to be done both on the car park and on the nearby highway network.
Askham Bar bus waiting area
Unfortunately, by then, damage to the park and ride site’s reputation may be beyond repair.
Buses continue to be mired in a web of temporary traffic lights and lane restrictions.
Electric bus at Poppleton Bar
Ironically one of the major improvements yet to be commissioned is the cycle underpass on the A1237. This was to be used to encourage cyclists to pedal to the park and ride site before boarding a bus to complete their journey.
click to access Google Maps
Google have added a comprehensive bus timetable to their “Google Maps” web and app sites.
The facility allows users to compare the time it would take to use different forms of transport and the length of the journey.
The site gives access to bus timetables and routes across the whole country.
The site already provides details of local cycle tracks and can provide a recommended optimum walking route as an alternative.
Its advantage over previous systems, is that it allows for integrated journey planning across the whole country.
It is also available on some mobiles.
click to access maps
Bus users will be able to ‘catch the bus’ from this week using a new-look bus timetable, as part of a city wide makeover to improve bus services and waiting facilities in and around York.
New-look timetables will be installed at all stops throughout the city during this week’s Catch the Bus Week (28 April – 4 May) a national campaign lead by Green Journeys.
Following a successful two-month trial along the Hull Road to Dunnington route (number 10 service) last year the new timetables provide a much more accessible format for bus users, compared to the existing timetables which are currently provided by both the council and individual operators in a variety of different designs, shapes and sizes.
The roll out is funded through part of the £3.5 million government Better Bus Area Fund awarded by the coalition government to York in 2012.
New stopping arrangements at Pavement/The Stonebow for buses on services 6, 9 (Park & Ride), 12, 13/13A from today. http://t.co/9U6uXBzwMq
— First York (@FirstBusYork) February 8, 2014