City of York Council’s i-Travel York programme launched

9:49am Tuesday 18th September 2012 in News

TRANSPORT chiefs in York were today launching a travel “revolution” which is aimed at changing the way people get around the city.

City of York Council ’s i-Travel York programme has been devised after £4.65 million of Government funding was secured, with the money being used to improve transport infrastructure and services and boost the city’s economy by tackling congestion.

The scheme is designed to encourage people to consider what their best option for travelling is, with car-sharing and the use of Park&Ride services being promoted alongside a campaign to get more people using alternatives to their cars.

The authority said i-Travel York would focus on freeing up more road space and reduce the impact of vehicles on communities, as well as making journeys to work quicker. A new website – itravelyork.info – will provide live traffic information, travel tips and health advice.

“While we fully support motorists who rely on their cars for business and family commitments, we are conscious of the need to reduce congestion and emissions,” said Coun Dave Merrett .

Comments(29)

Tom6187 says...
9:58am Tue 18 Sep 12

People who live in rural areas will always use their cars regardless of these endless expensive schemes. What you should look at is the badly designed roads that can't handle the levels of traffic, the amount of cars on the road will continue to rise regardless of what you do so focus your money on making the roads prepared for it. Start with the horrendous York outer ring road.

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Bloater says...
10:16am Tue 18 Sep 12

Tom6187 wrote:
People who live in rural areas will always use their cars regardless of these endless expensive schemes. What you should look at is the badly designed roads that can't handle the levels of traffic, the amount of cars on the road will continue to rise regardless of what you do so focus your money on making the roads prepared for it. Start with the horrendous York outer ring road.
But they cannot all bring them into the centre of the city. Anyone who remembers Coney St as it used to be will recognise that York cannot simply leave drivers to go where they choose and allow congestion to provide its own constraints. Nor could we build roads wide enough to accommodate every vehicle that might want to use them. Making it easier for people to move around means offering alternatives.

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asd says...
10:31am Tue 18 Sep 12

The problem is it is cheaper for me to drive in to York park up and drive home. (Public) or should I say private Transport in York is too expensive compared to other citys. Sort this out and you may have a chance.

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Tom6187 says...
11:15am Tue 18 Sep 12

Bloater wrote:
Tom6187 wrote:
People who live in rural areas will always use their cars regardless of these endless expensive schemes. What you should look at is the badly designed roads that can't handle the levels of traffic, the amount of cars on the road will continue to rise regardless of what you do so focus your money on making the roads prepared for it. Start with the horrendous York outer ring road.
But they cannot all bring them into the centre of the city. Anyone who remembers Coney St as it used to be will recognise that York cannot simply leave drivers to go where they choose and allow congestion to provide its own constraints. Nor could we build roads wide enough to accommodate every vehicle that might want to use them. Making it easier for people to move around means offering alternatives.
But they will while it's cheaper for them to do so and it always will be cheaper because the council haven't got a clue how things should be done. And even if they did the right thing, the level of cars on the roads will continue to rise and more people will choose to drive into town than before. Another 4.65 million down the drain.

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Pete the Brickie says...
12:08pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Brilliant, £4.65 million to achieve what Radio York already do and we already pay for, up to date travel information. To call wasting an amount like this a "revolution" is a grave insult to the thousands of French peasants who died overthrowing king Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, unless of course this system will actually rid the city of the need for Alexander and Crisp without of course the requirement for thousands to besiege the Guildhall while Crisp shouts "let them catch buses".

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YorkPatrol says...
12:17pm Tue 18 Sep 12

I’ve got an i-dea.

Put an “i” in front of i-everything to make it i-sound i-great!

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hugohackenbush says...
12:18pm Tue 18 Sep 12

£4.65 million !!!

Can I suggest this would be better spent on a small scale tram system.
Lots of them with cheap fares and going to every part of the town and villages.

Or trolley buses same format withe essense being on cheap fares.

Mr Merrit who seems to be anti car does not come up with a viable alternative. Expensive fares do not a commuter make.

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Tom6187 says...
12:19pm Tue 18 Sep 12

YorkPatrol wrote:
I’ve got an i-dea.

Put an “i” in front of i-everything to make it i-sound i-great!
Well it works for Apple.

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xtc says...
12:55pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Traffic congestion in York is just how it is and will be!but I wonder if the lord mayor would use an alternative or park and ride instead of a limo he did nt need!after all the pm uses a saloon.

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xtc says...
12:55pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Traffic congestion in York is just how it is and will be!but I wonder if the lord mayor would use an alternative or park and ride instead of a limo he did nt need!after all the pm uses a saloon.

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YorkOwl says...
1:11pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Councillor Dave Merrett states that he supports people who rely on cars but the i-travel york website doesn't seem to offer car travel as an option. How exactly is that supporting people who rely on cars? While I quite accept the reasoning behind the iniative to promote public transport and cycling I can never understand why there isn't an integrated transport policy. I would think, for example, that it wouldn't be too difficult to make amendments to get traffic flowing around the city more easily. This would benefit public transport as well as the private motorist.

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YorkPatrol says...
2:00pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Tom6187 wrote:
YorkPatrol wrote: I’ve got an i-dea. Put an “i” in front of i-everything to make it i-sound i-great!
Well it works for Apple.
So the best York council can do is copy an overused and inappropriate branding model?? Historically the “i” stands for internet so how exactly is it relevant??


Anyway, this whole thing is a total joke…. Stating they are launching a “travel revolution” then only coming up with car sharing and the park and ride…. Yeah, very revolutionised... well done


Let’s start a travel revolution by simply stating everyone should use the bus but we’ll put an “i” on the word travel so everyone thinks it’s really modern and forward thinking.

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Tom6187 says...
2:10pm Tue 18 Sep 12

YorkPatrol wrote:
Tom6187 wrote:
YorkPatrol wrote: I’ve got an i-dea. Put an “i” in front of i-everything to make it i-sound i-great!
Well it works for Apple.
So the best York council can do is copy an overused and inappropriate branding model?? Historically the “i” stands for internet so how exactly is it relevant??


Anyway, this whole thing is a total joke…. Stating they are launching a “travel revolution” then only coming up with car sharing and the park and ride…. Yeah, very revolutionised... well done


Let’s start a travel revolution by simply stating everyone should use the bus but we’ll put an “i” on the word travel so everyone thinks it’s really modern and forward thinking.
I was being flippant.

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Jazzper says...
2:48pm Tue 18 Sep 12

YorkOwl wrote:
Councillor Dave Merrett states that he supports people who rely on cars but the i-travel york website doesn't seem to offer car travel as an option. How exactly is that supporting people who rely on cars? While I quite accept the reasoning behind the iniative to promote public transport and cycling I can never understand why there isn't an integrated transport policy. I would think, for example, that it wouldn't be too difficult to make amendments to get traffic flowing around the city more easily. This would benefit public transport as well as the private motorist.
Spend some money on sorting out Yorks horrendously frustrating traffic light phasing. I thought we had a super duper computerized system to improve traffic flowing through our city. Well I can tell you Mr Merrett it isn't working, so why not fix it ! That would save time and money for us all, including your beloved cycling buddies, (the ones that obey traffic signals)

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Kevin Turvey says...
2:52pm Tue 18 Sep 12

‘The authority said i-Travel York would focus on freeing up more road space and reduce the impact of vehicles on communities’

So how is this actually to be achieved practically?
What actual physical measures are going to free up road space?

The itravel website exciting it is not is basically just promoting travelling to work by public transport, walking, cycling or car sharing.

There is little information that people do not already know through sheer experience and/or frustration of attempting to use the poor quality public transport available at present.

Also on the website (link below) are details of locations of launch events.

I wonder how much that is costing?

I may well go down and ask some awkward questions to the poor minimum wage promotion staff that will be manning the stand.

http://www.itravelyo
rk.info/events/i-tra
vel-york-launch-even
ts

Also on the page (link above) ‘Local people will also be able to meet the i-Travel York mascot.’
Most importantly of all, every white elephant requires a gimmick.

This idea is stolen from the Olympics games, can’t wait to see that. …. Not.

I am sure it will be some poor minimum wage soul on a temporary contract back on the dole next week in a foam rubber suit wandering around scaring children?
I may be totally underwhelmed!

Also spotted on the website is a twitter link ’What's your favorite sustainable transport song?!’

Mine are :
2-4-6-8 Motorway by Tom Robinson, this should be the campaign song for the enevitable eventually and costly dualling of the A1237.

Motorbikin by Chris Spedding, in this city the only way to get around until the above is sorted without having to endure the ignominy of an unreliable and expensive First Bus service or having to reduce your dignity into turning into a Peddling Paul disciple!

I can only reflect on the past polishing of T_U_R_D_S by the council that occurred with the FTR debacle. As that website promoting the now defunct FTR was also full of blatant lies and misinformation.

Is the no doubt trademarked by Apple ‘I’ in this instance for?

idiotic.

incomplete policy with no actual real tangible benefits.

incalculably expensive for little actual substance.

Please feel free to add more!

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Oncebitten says...
3:23pm Tue 18 Sep 12

@Kevin Turvey

i would like Big Yellow Taxi.

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witheryjack says...
4:02pm Tue 18 Sep 12

'freeing up more road space'

Why not just 'freeing'? What's the difference between 'freeing' and 'freeing up'? Is the latter a better sort of freeing?

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meme says...
4:44pm Tue 18 Sep 12

I dont know how much it costs to run busses in York but if they were free and like the Dolmush in Turkey they would be used much more and the money from grants could be used to pay for the busses instead.
Simple really... Do I get a £100000 salary and a pension for life for suggesting this?

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meme says...
4:48pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Not sure why my blog was tampered with but when describing the Domush in Turkey which stops and picks up anywhere on a single route i suggested this was called customer service and delivering what the customer wants but this was removed from my blog for some reason
Is this blog monitored by our transport 'chiefs'! God that word is hated by me and used by the press all the time. They are not chiefs anymore than I am they are public officials paid by us to do a job and most of the time they are useless at it

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PKH says...
4:53pm Tue 18 Sep 12

i-Travel wait for the writ from Apple

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PKH says...
4:59pm Tue 18 Sep 12

I have an idea to help ease congestion, how about First running a reliable bus service so pensioners with free travel don't get fed up waiting for a bus so go home and get their car instead, like a neighbour of mine had to the other day. People are going to use their cars with such an unreliable over priced bus service.

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Pete the Brickie says...
5:04pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Jazzper wrote:
YorkOwl wrote:
Councillor Dave Merrett states that he supports people who rely on cars but the i-travel york website doesn't seem to offer car travel as an option. How exactly is that supporting people who rely on cars? While I quite accept the reasoning behind the iniative to promote public transport and cycling I can never understand why there isn't an integrated transport policy. I would think, for example, that it wouldn't be too difficult to make amendments to get traffic flowing around the city more easily. This would benefit public transport as well as the private motorist.
Spend some money on sorting out Yorks horrendously frustrating traffic light phasing. I thought we had a super duper computerized system to improve traffic flowing through our city. Well I can tell you Mr Merrett it isn't working, so why not fix it ! That would save time and money for us all, including your beloved cycling buddies, (the ones that obey traffic signals)
Spot on Jazzper, the problem is even the "improvements" they do make things worse. You only have to look at the James Street/Lawrence Street junction, before they put the traffic island in you could turn left off Lawrence street nearly all the time, now it's about a third because a bus or HGV might be turning right and swinging out to avoid the island.

Another example is none of the lights on Fulford road appear to be able to detect the fact that vehicles queuing on the side roads are only turning left or outbound and regularly stop dozens of cars on the main road travelling inbound to allow a single vehicle to turn left which is not in their path.

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TERRIER3 says...
6:41pm Tue 18 Sep 12

asd wrote:
The problem is it is cheaper for me to drive in to York park up and drive home. (Public) or should I say private Transport in York is too expensive compared to other citys. Sort this out and you may have a chance.
so you can drive to york and back ( petrol, wear and tear on car ) and park for less than £3.50? thats what it would cost you on the bus a day or £16 a week

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TERRIER3 says...
6:42pm Tue 18 Sep 12

hugohackenbush wrote:
£4.65 million !!!

Can I suggest this would be better spent on a small scale tram system.
Lots of them with cheap fares and going to every part of the town and villages.

Or trolley buses same format withe essense being on cheap fares.

Mr Merrit who seems to be anti car does not come up with a viable alternative. Expensive fares do not a commuter make.
its costing a **** site more than 4 million to build the tram system in edinburgh

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TERRIER3 says...
6:50pm Tue 18 Sep 12

when i lived in spain it cost us 1 euro to travel on a bus anywhere............
..........the difference? the spanish government like many other european countries heavily subsidise the bus companys, here? well the government as cut subsidies and cut the amount they pay the bus companys for the pensioners travel, anyone who thinks first should let people travel free, good job your not self employed you would be bankrupt in a week, bus companys are like any other company, they need to make money, would you go to costa coffee and expect them to give everyone a free coffee?

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Saracen says...
7:19pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Throwing taxpayers money at covering the cracks never works - these councillors should be personally responsible for every pound they spend AND waste. Traffic Light City is a joke - the starting and stopping creates more pollution than ever and costs in installations, signs and electricity. The Netherlands are removing them all - just look at Monkgate when they fail - no congestion and cleaner air!
I'm all for pedestrain zones - but we haven't any - just one which is very dangerous because people are led to believe it is. 20mph is just Liberal tinkering and further increases contempt for a law which cannot be enforced. Pedestrians are beginning to believe they have the right of way on roads which couldn't be more stupid and having been almost knocked down twice this week by cyclists who don't want to use the cycle lanes anymore - the mess is just about years of ill thought out tinkering with a problem not addressing properly in the first place. Ban traffic within the existing central pedestrian zone except between 11pm and 7am and leave the rest alone. Put money in teaching kids the Highway Code - compulsory at school. Remove the cycle lanes and let us get the roads safer. No sensible person will let their kjids cycle on roads protected only by a painted line anyway! Will no one put any common sense management into this? I guess we only have the representation we deserve.

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pedalling paul says...
7:50pm Tue 18 Sep 12

I had a sneaking suspicion that this issue might be regarded by some commentators as "anti-car" In fact it's about encouraging wider travel choices. The car is still appropriate for some journeys, but others could be made by alternative means. itravel encourages residents to consider these other choices.

That will mean more space for those who need rather than want to use a car. And car sharing will help as well, by halving stress levels and fuel costs.

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inthesticks says...
11:37pm Tue 18 Sep 12

I would suggest that the majority of cars are not travelling into town. The majority are travelling around York. From Leeds, Wetherby, Harrogate, Acomb etc to Clifton Moor, the hospital, Rowntrees and to the East of York and much further afield. There are no buses to cover these journeys, no park and ride that covers where these people need to go, no cyclist apart from Bradley Wiggins who would attempt these journeys.
People who live in the City and are so insular in their thinking that they presume everyone can get a bus outside their house or jump on a cycle and be at work in 10 minutes needs to travel outside the bar walls once in a while!
Look at the A1237 between 4pm and 7pm, between Haxby and Poppleton. It should be renamed `stress road` rather than ring road. What on earth was that waste of money at the Rawcliffe roundabout for?
My word (can`t swear but want to!), just shunt all the cars into two lanes, get everyone waiting in the left lane heading west annoyed at everyone in the right lane who is cutting in but not waiting their turn. So the 1.4 million spent changed the queuing from entering the roundabout to exiting it! Jees, who got paid a fortune for that idea?
Who narrowed the road at The Fox and stopped the cars being able to pass the buses when they stop for passengers? One of the most moronic wastes of money and causes of congestion ever.
So now we are going to have a web site which will explain our travel options. I know my travel options.
Mr. Sturdy needs to shout a bit louder I think. 84% of transport spending goes to London, that means that the North is funding the South, WE are paying for Boris to have a non-congested London. (and I have been to London twice this year and though busy there was no sitting in traffic).
>
TRANSPORT SPENDING PER HEAD

London - £2,731
South-east of England - £792
East Midlands - £311
West Midlands - £269
Yorkshire & Humberside - £201
North-west of England - £134
Eastern England - £43
South-west of England - £19
North-east of England - £5

Get your wellies off Julian and make them listen.

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Magicman! says...
1:19am Fri 21 Sep 12

iAmgoingtopunchsomeb
odysoonifalltheseiwo
rdsdonotstopsoon

That is all.
(I was going to write more, but 'inthesticks' above has covered all the points.

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