Liberal Democrats seek clarity on threat to York bus routes

Lib Dem councillors said the services - which variously cover Chapelfields, Wigginton, Rawcliffe, Acomb, Poppleton and Dunnington - were only saved in June after last minute intervention by council officers.

They said three months of funding was allocated to keep the mainly early morning and evening First Bus services – including numbers 1,2A, 4 and 10 -  from July 2 but the ‘stay of execution’ does not have long left to run.

It was indicated that parts of the number 13 route put on by Connexions may also be at risk.

Pete Killbane said the current administration was serious about developing a Local Transport Plan (Image: City of York Council)

Lib Dem transport spokesperson Councillor Stephen Fenton said: “The services under threat are vital for the many residents who rely on them.

“Not everyone has access to a car, and for those that do, the last thing we should be doing is forcing more private vehicles onto already congested roads.”

In September 2022, the council received £17.36 million funding from the Department for Transport for York’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).

This funding was dependent upon the council setting up a statutory Enhanced Partnership (EP) with the local bus operators, including First Bus and Connexions Buses.

Key objectives for the EP were a 25 per cent growth in passenger numbers from the 2018 peak and 95 per cent overall passenger satisfaction, two per cent higher than the previous high.

The alternative course of action was to follow a publicly controlled franchise model like the one formally launching in Greater Manchester this September.

The plan put specific obligations on both the council and bus operators in addition to joint partnership commitments including service improvements and targeted fare reductions for the 19-25 age group.

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The Lib Dems say that £250,000 from this young persons budget, secured when they were in control, may be required to keep the threatened routes open until March 2025.

A council spokesperson said: “We see no impact on the BSIP ambition to support Young Person and Family Fares initiatives, though any spend on possible further bus support elements is required.

“The Young Person initiative will launch early September 2023.”

The Lib Dems said the council can and should work with bus operators but government action is required to provide long-term certainty for both operators and passengers.

Cllr Fenton said: “Without this, we are likely to continue to face these cliff-edge situations.

“York’s Liberal Democrat councillors will continue to make the case for fair funding for our city’s transport needs.”

Labour councillor Pete Kilbane, the council executive member for transport, said: “The Liberal Democrats were in charge for eight years and lurched from one threatened route to another, rather than working with bus service providers on a long-term solution. 

“Bus companies are now interested in York as they know the Labour administration is genuinely serious about developing a Local Transport Plan that aims to get more and more people using buses, helping to tackle congestion and free up the roads.”

Haxby and Wigginton Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Hollyer said residents were told by a bus driver that the number 13 route was under threat.

He said: “The number 13 provides a vital service to residents in the West Nooks area of Haxby, and its loss would leave many without practical access to public transport.

“That’s why I am calling for confirmation that this leg of the number 13 route will be protected.”

Craig Temple, managing director of Connexions, which provides the service, said his company only took the service on in 2015 after First Buses stopped running it.

He confirmed the council’s three-month subsidy to continue the service to West Nooks and around Flaxmans Croft in Copmanthorpe.

He said that unless serious taxpayer funded public transport was adopted, similar to continental structures, services would be lost.