CAMPAIGNERS calling for a better bus service in York have urged the city council to set out exactly how it plans to improve the reliability of the city’s buses – and how it will meet its target of increasing passenger numbers by 50 per cent.

Members of York Bus Forum say they welcome the authority’ s draft new Local Transport Strategy, which was approved by council Executive on October 12 and will go out to wider consultation next month.

They say it ‘places bus transport in the centre of the plan to reduce congestion, reduce pollution and help revive the economy of York’.

But the organisation has tabled a series of questions for the authority ahead of an Economy, Place, Access and Transport Scrutiny Committee being held on Tuesday evening.

Bus forum members say they are support the council’s plans and the promise of using £17.3 million of Government bus service improvement plan (BSIP) funding as a ‘once in a generation opportunity to make the improvements to the bus services the city needs’.

But York Bus Forum secretary Niall McFerran, who will be speaking at tomorrow’s meeting, added: “This is the right time to ask how much of the award money has currently been spent, what it has been spent on, what are the detailed plans for the remaining funds, when will the changes happen and what is the expected outcome of the spending?

“City of York Council have a target of increasing bus use by 50 per cent.

“We ask what the base number is and when is the target going to be achieved?”

McFerran added that the bus forum had been ‘inundated by complaints’ following the decision by a ‘key bus operator in York’ – ie First - to abandon ‘clock-face timetables’ on some routes for an arrangement that sees buses arrive at stops at different times during the day.

“To increase patronage, the reliability of the service requires improvement,” he said.

He also questioned why First had ordered a new fleet of electric buses which contained only a single wheelchair space – unlike many other cities, where buses had two wheelchair spaces.

“There must be a way to correct this by reconfiguring the seating to allow the extra space,” Mr McFerran said.

And he called on York council to use the station redevelopment as an ‘opportunity to create a transport hub with all services connecting with rail travellers’.

Chair of the York Bus Forum Doreen Magill added: “it is unlikely that there will be a better time to deliver the bus services York needs and wants.

“We are delighted by the current support to make this happen and ask that we continue to work on ensuring York chooses the bus to provide its transport needs.”

A spokesperson for First York said the bus design selected for its new fleet of electric buses 'meets all disability access requirements'.

"The position of the poles has also been modified after consultation with disability groups to make the wheelchair space easy to use.

“In deciding the specification for a new vehicle we consider the accessibility needs for all customers with restricted mobility to balance the provision of tip seats at the front of the bus together with wheelchair space and overall passenger capacity."

On bus timetabling, the spokesperson added: “We appreciate that timetable changes on selected services may take customers a little longer to familiarise, but these have been introduced to improve punctuality.

"The adjustment to scheduling at different times during the day allows flexibility in journeys and enables us to manage road and traffic conditions to keep services running on time.

“We are now seeing the benefits of this with average punctuality on some services reaching 96 per cent and in all cases achieving over 92 per cent.”

Members of the council’s Executive approved the city’s new draft transport strategy on October 12.

The strategy commits the council to reversing the ‘blue badge ban’ which has seen many blue badge holders unable to access the city centre.

Other measures in the strategy include: 

  • Mitigating the carbon impact of upgrading and dualling the A1237
  • Extending the city’s Clean Air Zone to include freight and taxis.
  • Becoming a fully electrified bus city
  • Improving York’s access to rail by completing the ‘station frontage’ scheme and continuing to support a station at Haxby
  • Providing concessionary bus fares for people aged up to 25 years old
  • Improving streets, cycleways and footpaths for walkers and wheelers.

Tomorrow's York council Economy, Place, Access and Transport Scrutiny Committee meets at 5.30pm.

The council plans to launch a consultation on its draft Local Transport Strategy next month. It hopes to adopt the strategy next March, and then present it to the new Mayoral Combined Authority which will be set up next year as a result of devolution.