Metro hits new snag

The uncertainty surrounding the launch of First York's new Metro service follows an earlier delay as the company awaited the arrival of nearly 100 state-of-the-art buses.

Now the company is waiting for the results of a union ballot of drivers to decide if a pay deal will be accepted.

If it is rejected, the launch will have to wait until negotiations reach a successful outcome.

Management do not want to launch it during staffing uncertainties. In a letter urging drivers to support the deal, managing director Brian Asquith said: "It would not be right to revolutionise public transport in York without your support."

He said today: "We made a revised offer to drivers last week which, in our view, is a very good deal.

"The drivers are holding a ballot tomorrow and we should hear the result by Friday."

He said setting up a new service needs to be registered six weeks before it starts running.

"We have said we want to get on with this and, if this pay offer is accepted, we can get registered almost immediately and have the service running by mid-September," he said.

"If they say no, then we will have to review the situation. That would obviously put the process back."

First York workers have turned down a previous pay deal, claiming they want wages in parity with their colleagues in Manchester and Leeds.

But First York has said that those drivers are paid more because of the size of the cities they cover and the larger demand for public transport, and a pay increase at that level would mean large fares increases for passengers.

If it can be registered in the near-future, the Metro service will introduce new routes and buses from September, with a full fleet of 53 single deckers, 12 double deckers and 33 minibuses on York's roads before Christmas.

It is planned to provide high-frequency, faster shuttle services through the main corridors of York and link up with services to other areas.

Updated: 16:33 Wednesday, July 25, 2001