Extra cash needed for Park&Ride expansion (From York Press)

Looks like nothing changed since the Libdem days! Contractors run rings around the Council, bidding low to get the job, only to discover hidden costs. Has the Council learned nothing? If the Council must cover any downside, then they should share in any upside, which means open-book and profit sharing.

Why do they want to build more and more P& R sites?
York is full to bursting at present inj the summer and is a thoroughly frustrating and stressful place to shop in.

to get more cars out of the city which is a pain in the neck most days never mind summer

im afraid a lot of people are too lazy to park up and catch the bus in of their own accord, and in some ways you cant blame them who wants to carry a load of shopping back on the bus, BUT the council should ban cars from the city centre and make them catch the park and ride, the traffic in the city centre is a nightmare and its only going to get worse and worse one day everywhere will be just gridlocked and we will be breathing in all the fumes from standing cars

Its the buses that cause congestion and pollution in the City centre, especially the tour of the city double deckers. Cars now have very efficient catalytic converters.
A monorail would be the future.

Have I missed something here?

FirstYork have a monopoly on the cities public road transport system and when further facilities are built for them to use the Council pay?? why don't THEY pay for a building they're going to use considering their price hikes? the services are defficient, tickets are overpriced and the service is under-maintained.

The council are bleating about cutting costs and redundancies but shell out for a private companies expansion plans.. something's very wrong here.

beechgrover wrote:
Looks like nothing changed since the Libdem days! Contractors run rings around the Council, bidding low to get the job, only to discover hidden costs. Has the Council learned nothing? If the Council must cover any downside, then they should share in any upside, which means open-book and profit sharing.

Quite, look for the consultants fees bumping it up annually!

Targets, subsidies and spin continue to drive new initiatives and projects, while cost and value are secondary considerations. Meanwhile, citizens on foot, driving or cycling can't fail to see the reality of congestion and pollution in the city. Getting rid of the FTR and restoring two lanes at the Clifton Green junction were good first steps... looking forward to the next.

The bus industry should be left to market forces to determine. The council interfere and all that happens is taxpayers pay many thousands (millions) of pounds to go straight into First's profit margins.

If shaving 22 seconds on a journey time was REALLY going to drive 4 million people onto buses, then surely First would know this and have funded it years ago.

johnwill: buses do not cause congestion! They may be frustrating, but imagine each passenger at rush hour transferred into a car - just ONE busload would stretch about half a mile.

Good job some of the people on these posts don't live in Edinburgh. Now that's real spending. Costs so far, £600 million on a tram nobody wants. £750,000 for PandR ? Sounds good value to me. Get the congestion-causing cars out of the city.

johnwill wrote:
Its the buses that cause congestion and pollution in the City centre, especially the tour of the city double deckers. Cars now have very efficient catalytic converters.
A monorail would be the future.

Made me smile. Good to see someone with a sense of humour.

johnwill wrote:
Its the buses that cause congestion and pollution in the City centre, especially the tour of the city double deckers. Cars now have very efficient catalytic converters.
A monorail would be the future.

most first buses have eco friendly euro 4 engines, and theres at least 10 cars for every bus on the road, not to mention vans and wagons

Steve, wrote:
Have I missed something here?

FirstYork have a monopoly on the cities public road transport system and when further facilities are built for them to use the Council pay?? why don't THEY pay for a building they're going to use considering their price hikes? the services are defficient, tickets are overpriced and the service is under-maintained.

The council are bleating about cutting costs and redundancies but shell out for a private companies expansion plans.. something's very wrong here.

park and ride is run by the council and all park and ride sites belong to the council First run the buses under contract to the council

BigDog-LittleDog wrote:
The bus industry should be left to market forces to determine. The council interfere and all that happens is taxpayers pay many thousands (millions) of pounds to go straight into First's profit margins.

If shaving 22 seconds on a journey time was REALLY going to drive 4 million people onto buses, then surely First would know this and have funded it years ago.

Ah, a schoolboy error there... You've put the words "First" and "Funded" in the same sentance!!

what is wrong with this council?
P and R is a good idea but can CoYC run a building contract properly..No they cannot?..Why.. because they are staffed by amateurs and its not their money so they dont consider it important.
Mr Wood ...its not the councils infrastructure fund... Its ours... Not yours and you should control costs better by making the contractor take the financial risks; not us! There are plenty of contractors wanting work and prepared to fight for it but CoYC dont seem to be able to recognise getting value for money.

TERRIER3 wrote:

Steve, wrote:
Have I missed something here?

FirstYork have a monopoly on the cities public road transport system and when further facilities are built for them to use the Council pay?? why don't THEY pay for a building they're going to use considering their price hikes? the services are defficient, tickets are overpriced and the service is under-maintained.

The council are bleating about cutting costs and redundancies but shell out for a private companies expansion plans.. something's very wrong here.

park and ride is run by the council and all park and ride sites belong to the council First run the buses under contract to the council

I was half asleep, and yeah upon re-reading it it's logical :) it's just a shame First get the only option, they're only so big in York because the like's of Arriva are pushed to operate outer city routes. They must spend hundreds just getting buses from the depot to York; it's out near Huby iirc.

BigDog-LittleDog wrote:
The bus industry should be left to market forces to determine. The council interfere and all that happens is taxpayers pay many thousands (millions) of pounds to go straight into First's profit margins.

If shaving 22 seconds on a journey time was REALLY going to drive 4 million people onto buses, then surely First would know this and have funded it years ago.

aye, um, what he said.

Steve, wrote:

TERRIER3 wrote:

Steve, wrote:
Have I missed something here?

FirstYork have a monopoly on the cities public road transport system and when further facilities are built for them to use the Council pay?? why don't THEY pay for a building they're going to use considering their price hikes? the services are defficient, tickets are overpriced and the service is under-maintained.

The council are bleating about cutting costs and redundancies but shell out for a private companies expansion plans.. something's very wrong here.

park and ride is run by the council and all park and ride sites belong to the council First run the buses under contract to the council

I was half asleep, and yeah upon re-reading it it's logical :) it's just a shame First get the only option, they're only so big in York because the like's of Arriva are pushed to operate outer city routes. They must spend hundreds just getting buses from the depot to York; it's out near Huby iirc.

ARRIVA are second only to FIRST, they are the countrys second biggest bus operator, and there depot is in selby which is a sub depot of Arriva west yorkshire, by the way i live on an Arriva route and the fares are no cheaper than Firsts...sorry im not trying to be awkward towards you just stating facts