COUNCIL staff have come up with a three-month stop gap to make sure villages south of York don’t lose bus connections.

City of York Council’s transport staff want to strike a three month deal for subsidised bus services from Bubwith, North Duffield and Wheldrake and on Thursday they will ask transport chief Cllr Peter Dew to approve their plan.

The move comes after bus firm East Yorkshire Motor Services (EYMS) announced it was scrapping the 18 service from Market Weighton to York via Holme on Spalding Moor, Bubwith, North Duffield and Wheldrake.

It ran with subsidies from City of York, East Riding and North Yorkshire councils but EYMS said it was still not commercially viable.

Instead, the firm plans to reroute its 46 service through Holme on Spalding Moor, Market Weighton, Pocklington and York - leaving the councils to find a solution for the smaller villages.

Under the new plan, City of York would lead the search for a new company to run a subsidised service from Bubwith and North Duffield into the city. That would guarantee one peak time journey between Bubwith and York in each direction, and put extras requirements on the number of journeys from North Duffield and Wheldrake to the city.

However, the proposal does not include services for villages between Bubwith and Holme on Spalding Moor - something that has worried East Riding councillor Victoria Aitken.

Cllr Aitken said people need to get between the villages to GPs’ surgeries, and for things like youth clubs and community events.

“People need to get between the villages, the communities are linked.”

Cllr Suzie Mercer, the City of York representative for Wheldrake, said: “As a stop gap, it’s very welcome. But it’s certainly not the level of service we would want in the long term.We have a lot of people who use the bus to get to work, which benefits the city, and who use the Friday and Saturday evening services.”

On Thursday Cllr Dew will be asked to either confirm the proposed temporary measure, costing about £7,500 for the three months; a fuller service costing £20,000 for the period; or sticking to the current £7,000 a year City of York currently pay.