This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
    • Politics
    • Transport
    • Lifestyle
    • Community
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Education
    • Sport
    • Harrogate
    • Ripon
    • Knaresborough
    • Boroughbridge
    • Pateley Bridge
    • Masham
  • What's On
  • Offers
  • Newsletter
  • Podcasts

Interested in advertising with us?

Advertise with us

  • News & Features
  • Your Area
  • What's On
  • Offers
  • Newsletter
  • Podcasts
  • Politics
  • Transport
  • Lifestyle
  • Community
  • Business
  • Crime
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Education
  • Sport
Advertise with us
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Latest News

We want to hear from you

Tell us your opinions and views on what we cover

Contact us
Connect with us
  • About us
  • Advertise your job
  • Correction and complaints
Download on App StoreDownload on Google Play Store
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Statement
  • Comments Participation T&Cs
Trust In Journalism

Copyright © 2020 The Stray Ferret Ltd, All Rights Reserved

Site by Show + Tell

Subscribe to trusted local news

In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

  • Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.

Already a subscriber? Log in here.

06

Apr 2022

Last Updated: 06/04/2022
News
News

MP Andrew Jones ‘disappointed’ at funding snub for £116m bid to boost bus services

by Suzannah Rogerson

| 06 Apr, 2022
Comment

0

Mr Jones said he was particularly concerned about a government suggestion that North Yorkshire County Council’s £116 million bid had failed because it did not show “sufficient ambition”.

pic-2-harrogate-electrics-bus-leaves-harrogate-bus-station
An electric bus run by Harrogate Bus Company.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has added his voice to the widespread disappointment that the area has not been awarded any money from the government’s Bus Back Better scheme.

After the announcement on Monday, Mr Jones said he was particularly concerned about a government suggestion that North Yorkshire County Council’s £116 million bid had failed because it did not show “sufficient ambition”.

He said:

“I am disappointed that we weren’t successful in getting this funding."
“We need to look at the bid that was submitted and the Department for Transport’s analysis of that bid to see why they felt that was the case.
“We might disagree with them or we might find there are things we can learn for next time.”


It had been hoped the £116 million would have funded new bus lanes, more affordable fares, real-time passenger information and a simpler ticketing system for services across North Yorkshire.

Despite the disappointment, Mr Jones said he was pleased that a separate bid to bring 39 new zero-emission buses to Harrogate was successful and that a park and ride pilot scheme for the town was still a possibility.

Speaking about the park and ride plans, Mr Jones said:

“If people use it, it has the potential to get more traffic off our roads and improve our environment.
“And we shouldn’t forget that we have been very successful in securing cash for public transport investment – particularly buses – in our area.
“We won £7.8 million from the government’s Zero Emissions Bus Regional Areas scheme to create an entirely electric bus fleet for our area last month.
“In 2016 we won over £200,000 to install clean bus technology in our local fleet.  We also won cash from the government to start the journey to being a zero emission bus town.
“So we must temper our disappointment with pride in how far we have come and re-double our efforts to bring back axed services on our rail line and getting even more cash into our local bus services.”






Read more:



  • Stray Views: Skipton Road ‘improvements’ have made delays worse

  • Harrogate district among worst prepared areas for electric cars, says study






The £7.8 million was awarded in March after a joint bid from North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Bus Company to make the firm’s fleet all-electric was successful.

This project will cost almost £20 million in total, with more than £12 million being invested by Transdev – the parent firm of Harrogate Bus Company.

A total of 20 single-decker and 19 double-decker buses will be bought over the next three years, as well as the supporting charging infrastructure.

Alex Hornby, chief executive of Transdev, said this project should be seen as a positive and that he believes passenger numbers will continue to grow in Harrogate – even without more government funding."

“Obviously on behalf of our customers, we are disappointed to see that the proposed improvements for bus travel by North Yorkshire County Council were not approved by the central government.
“However, we remain confident that we will be able to grow demand for bus travel thanks to the funding support from the Department for Transport in a new electric bus fleet in Harrogate which will result in a fully zero-emission network in our town and convert our base in Starbeck to a 100% electric bus depot.”


Mr Hornby added:

“We will continue working closely with North Yorkshire County Council to see how else we can introduce any of the original Bus Back Better proposals, including a pilot park and ride site at Pannal on our class-leading 36 route.”