PLANS for the future of York’s Park&Ride service will not be reconsidered by the council, but more must be done to clarify how the transferral to vehicles with lower emissions will take place.

Proposed changes to the Park&Ride contract - made after operators failed to meet the council’s requirements - were “called in” by Green Party councillors Denise Craghill, Andy D’Agorne and Lars Kramm who said the changes would hamper York’s air quality improvement plans by reducing or losing completely the number of ultra low emission (ULEV) buses.

The changes - which were recommended to the council as the most likely to attract bidders - specified two of the six routes must use ULEV buses and allow the council to control the fares, routes and stops.

Councillors also said the price of city centre parking would not be cut, to make sure the park and ride service was an attractive option for shoppers.

Former councillor Dave Merrett told the meeting that not specifying the new Park&Ride buses should be ULEV was “morally and ethically indefensible”, and said the Executive should reconsider the option, while Cllr Lars Kramm said residents and visitors to the city would suffer if more was not done to reduce harmful emissions throughout York.

Cllr Kramm said that by demanding the Park&Ride operation use ULEV vehicles within a defined timescale, this danger could be reduced, but Cllr John Galvin said the delays in finding a new operator and imposing demands on interested parties meant the council was “running the risk of not having a Park&Ride service”.

Neil Ferris, director of place for the council, said that demanding the new operator must use ULEV buses carried a “significant risk”, if grant funding was not received to help pay for the new buses, as “a significant increase” in fares would be needed to cover the cost.

Mr Ferris said the imposition of a clean air zone across the city, where vehicles could be charged if their emissions did not meet standards, could see the council liable for operators’ charges, but this had not been factored into the officers’ report as details on the clean air zone initiative had not yet been determined.

Cllr David Levene said the council’s current plan was to “just hope it solves itself”, and proposed the executive member with responsibility for the tender process should release details on how the council will work with the new operators on improving the emissions of the new fleet of buses within a defined timescale.

The proposition passed by a majority.