Bus services face new threat

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 11th 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.

Bus service usage figures at Nov 2014 2

 

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 moths.

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/

Changes to traffic lanes on Clarence Street

Clarence Street proposals - click to access

Clarence Street proposals – click to access

Following consultation with residents and businesses a new scheme to improve one of York’s key city centre bus routes is set to go to a Cabinet Member meeting for final approval.

The proposals include introducing a longer lane for vehicles turning left into Lord Mayor’s Walk from Clarence Street, so that straight-through/ right-turning traffic is not held up by queuing vehicles.

Traffic signals will be changed so that the left turn from Clarence Street into Lord Mayor’s Walk gets additional ‘green time’.

The scheme is supported through part of the £3.5 million Better Bus Area Fund (BBAF) awarded to the council from the Government’s Department for Transport in 2012.

The five-week consultation took place in September and October and asked for views on the proposed measures on Clarence Street to help improve the reliability of bus services on the approach to York city centre.

The findings of the consultation will now go before the Cabinet Member for Transport’s public Decision Session on Friday 21 November for final approval.

The improvements will help three of York’s five most frequent bus services, specifically routes 1, 5 and 6 which can experience some delays on Clarence Street, Gillygate and St Leonards Place.

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Exhibition Square bus stop work to start

click to see original drawing

click to see original drawing

Residents and visitors are set to benefit from a “new look bus interchange“* in the heart of York’s city centre, in and around Exhibition Square.

The bus interchange at Exhibition Square is a key location for many bus services for residents, visitors and people living in rural areas to the North of York, handling around 750,000 bus passenger journeys a year.
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Latest Lendal Bridge report reveals 3000 drivers a week still being fined

No significant change to Park and Ride bus service journey times as total number fined climbs to 45,000.

The Council have now published an updated report on their web site assessing the impact of the Lendal Bridge closure.

Traffic on Lendal bridge after closure

Traffic on Lendal bridge after closure

Any hopes that the information would be objective and impartial are quickly dispelled as the report resorts to sloganising “York remains very much open for business” whatever that is supposed to mean.

The figures for Park and Ride show small increases in the number of passengers (following a trend evident for the last 6 years over which passenger growth on the services has been sustained each year).

Some services show small reductions in journey times since the Lendal Bridge restrictions were introduced. Others – like the link to the Designer Centre – show increases in journey times.

This rather confirms what is so obvious to many – that traffic congestion, on alternative routes to Lendal, is continuing to increase.

No information is provided on normal “stage carriage” bus services.

There was a 10% increase in traffic volumes on Clifton bridge when comparing November 2013 with the same month last year. Increased traffic volumes on Foss Islands Road are also evident.

The report makes no attempt to assess increases in journey times or costs for drivers. There is no information about pollution levels

The Council has also updated the tables showing the number of Penalty Charge Notices issued to drivers on Lendal Bridge and in Coppergate.

The numbers fined on Coppergate doubled to 595 during the St Nicholas Fayre week.

The number issued on Lendal Bridge is still regularly in excess of 2500 a week.

70% of the tickets issued are to visitors to the City

Lendal:
02-08 Sept (4 days enforcement, commenced Wednesday 1675
09-15 Sept 2015 (6 days enforcement, because of the Skyride event) 2015
16-23 Sept (5 days enforcement, cameras updating) 1766
23 – 29 September 2,762 PCNs issued (6 days enforcement) 2762
30 Sep – 6 October 1,885 PCNs issued (5 days enforcement) 1885
7 – 13 October 2,487 PCNs issued (5 days enforcement) 2487
14 – 20 October 3,640 PCNs issued 3640
21 – 27 October 3,879 PCNs issued 3879
28 Oct – 3 November 4,098PCNs issued 4098
4 – 10 November 1,921 PCNs issued 1921
11 – 17 November 3,172 PCNs issued 3172
18 – 24 November 2,801 PCNs issued 2801
25 Nov – 2 December 2,553 PCNs issued 2553
Coppergate:
15-18 August (4 days enforcement, commenced Wednesday) 1085
19-25 August 1741
26-01 Sept 880
02-08 Septd 850
09-15 Sept (6 days enforcement, because of the Skyride event) 841
16-22 Sept (5 days enforcement, cameras updating and gas works commenced) 324
23 – 29 September 405 PCNs issued (6 days enforcement) 405
30 Sep – 6 October 345 PCNs issued (5 days enforcement) 345
7 – 13 October 593 PCNs issued (5 days enforcement) 593
14 – 20 October 869 PCNs issued 869
21 – 27 October 755 PCNs issued (6 days enforcement) 755
28 Oct – 3 November 416PCNs issued 416
4 Nov – 10 November 146 PCNs issued # 146
11 – 17 November 240 PCNs issued # 240
18 – 24 November 251 PCNs issued # 251
25 Nov – 2 December 595 PCNs issued 595

– Of all PCNs reviewed, up to Monday 8 December 2013, there was a 30:70 split on YO and non-YO postcodes.

# – only one camera operational.

Have your say on York’s new-look bus timetables

Bus users along the Hull Road to Dunnington route in York will notice new-look bus timetables have been installed as part of a two month trial.

Bus timetable 2013

New timetables have been installed at 42 stops along the number 10 route.

Funded through part of the £3.5 million government Better Bus Area Fund, it is intended that following the trial any necessary improvements can be made, and that the timetables will then be rolled out city wide to the whole network during December/January.

The roll out will include every bus stop in the York area receiving a new timetable cases, which will use a single consistent design showing all departures from the stop in time order.

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York’s first £500,000 bus shelter

Only a few months after the Council, announced that it was to provide a bus interchange next to the station, it is set to spend £500,000 on upgrading the bus shelters on Rougier Street and Station Rise.

£500,000 bus stop

£500,000 bus stop

It will dub them as a “central interchange” showing the plan to demolish Queen Street bridge, and centralise facilities off the main highway, to have been a bit of idle window dressing.

A Council report talks of the “use of lighting and public art to make the facilities generally more attractive, and a better place to spend time waiting for a bus”

Actually what passengers want is the bus to arrive on time plus timely and accurate information about any delays.

Once again it seems that the sub-urban areas are being ignored

In a separate announcement the Council says that it expects to spend over £1.4 million on improvements that will benefit bus services in the “inner” part of York.

Behind closed doors logo

The “better bus area” apparently includes part of Acomb and Dringhouses”

Most of the money will come from bus companies but around £400,000 will come from taxpayers.

Some will be spent on new sections of bus lane, traffic signals and kerb lines.

Once again there has been no consultation with passengers, residents or even local ward Councillors.

Museum Street bus stop to get 12th century shelter

Under new proposals, passengers waiting for the Rawcliffe Park&Ride at the Musem Street bus stop will be able to wait under a new canopy shelter, funded out of the £3.5 million government Better Bus Area funding.

The canopy is adjacent to St Leonards Hospital which was founded in 1137. The canopy design will respect the setting of the adjacent building

Proposed shelter design

Proposed shelter design

The Council says that it undertook full consultation with key stakeholder groups including English Heritage, York Museums Trust, York Civic Trust and businesses who front Museum Gardens. The scheme is estimated to cost in the region of £75 to £80k.

The upgrade will improve the flow of pedestrians along the northwest side of Museum Street, reduce the conflict with bus passengers and improve passenger waiting facilities at the bus stop.

Cllr Dave Merrett, Cabinet Member of Transport, Planning and Sustainably, said: The new shelter will be done in the best possible taste

In addition to the new shelter, the proposed alterations will include localised removal of the existing stone walls which will be reused where possible to retain the fabric of the original walling, and a new curved section of walling will be provided to ensure security to Museum Gardens is maintained.

The mature cherry tree will need to be removed as the roots are damaging the adjacent drainage system and are penetrating into the monument’s wall joints. Removal of the tree will open up the view of the adjacent Willow tree, which is considered to be the dominant and more attractive tree, as well improving the view to The Minster.

It is also proposed to provide new railings on the new curved walling to match the adjacent Brierley railings that link between the bus stop and the Library, as this is the natural continuation.

Alternatively, the original railing (which extends from the Museum Gardens entrance to the bus stop) is an option being considered.

To view the proposals or to attend the decision session visit: http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=738&MId=8022