North Yorkshire Council to axe YorBus service

North Yorkshire Council will axe the YorBus service next month nearly two years after it was launched.

The service, which operates between Ripon, Bedale, and Masham, was launched as a pilot scheme by the council in July 2021 to offer rural residents low-cost journeys on demand.

The service could be booked by residents via an app.

However, council officials have decided to axe the service as it had become too expensive to run. As a result, it will end on June 30.

The authority added that the cost per journey of YorBus was “significantly higher than the traditional, timetabled bus routes”.

The pilots costs around £230,000 to operate annually, but latest figures suggest YorBus journeys cost over twice as much as a scheduled service.

A YorBus service, which operates in Masham and Ripon.

A YorBus service, which operates in Masham and Ripon.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said:

“We launched the YorBus pilot two years ago to enhance our existing public transport network.

“It has allowed us to gather valuable information about the costs and benefits of running a digital demand responsive bus service.

“Without sufficient additional funding being available to expand the service so YorBus can benefit residents across North Yorkshire, and with costs per journey remaining so high despite efforts to improve value for money, the pilot will come to an end as planned next month.”

When discussing the service coming to an end, he added:

“This will allow us to be fair to all residents and focus every penny of our limited resources on supporting bus services across the county at a time of unprecedented pressure.

“While continuing to work closely with operators to support at-risk services, we are also currently reviewing a number of initiatives to improve rural transport and asking the public for their views to help shape our future strategy.”

In 2022, the council bid for £116 million to improve bus services as part of the Government’s Bus Back Better scheme, but was unsuccessful. An expansion of the YorBus service was earmarked if the funding had been granted.

The two YorBus vehicles will be returned for use on other local bus services and drivers will be redeployed.

Earlier this week, the council launched the Let’s Talk Transport survey, asking residents to share their travel habits in hopes to develop the travel strategy for the coming decades.

Bus routes 136, 138, 138A, 139, 144 and 159 will continue to run, as well as alternative community transport operators in the area where YorBus ran.

Alternative travel options can be found here.

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Boroughbridge estate agency Craven-Holmes shortlisted for top national award

This article is sponsored by Craven-Holmes.

Boroughbridge estate agents Craven-Holmes has been named a finalist in one of the most prestigious awards in the UK property industry.

The independent family-run business is one of 38 agencies shortlisted in the Small Estate Agency of the Year category at The Negotiator Awards 2022.

The winner will be announced at a black-tie ceremony at London’s Grosvenor Hotel on Friday, November 25.

Owner Tracey Wrigglesworth, who bought the agency in 2018, said it was a huge honour to be nominated.

She said:

“The Negotiator Awards are like the Oscars of the industry. Just to be shortlisted is massive.

“The criteria is incredibly tough. You have got to prove your worth.

“When I got the email to say I’d been shortlisted, I’m surprised you couldn’t hear me screaming in Harrogate!”

Tracey, who has more than 20 years experience in the local property market, runs the business with her daughter Mahalah Mulholland. Her friend Pauline Wardman also works at the agency and her son also gets involved when needed.

The sales, lettings and property agency works across the region in the Boroughbridge, Ripon, Thirsk, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Bedale and Wetherby areas.

Tracey and her team have all lived and worked in the area for many years and therefore have an in-depth knowledge of the local market.

Tracey said:

“We pride ourselves on our relationships and our customer service, as well as trust and integrity. We are really proud of what we do.

“We are an independent on Boroughbridge High Street and we are very much a supporter of the local community.

“I’m so proud of what we have achieved. The support that I’ve had has just been lovely with continued repeat business and recommendations.”

Whether you’re buying, selling, renting or letting, Tracey and her team are ready to help. Get in touch by emailing sales@craven-holmes.co.uk or lettings@craven-holmes.co.uk

For more information, visit www.craven-holmes.co.uk

Seven places to see Santa across the Harrogate district this Christmas

It feels like it creeps up on us earlier every year. Yes folks, it’s the most wonderful time of the year: it’s time to book your Santa visit.

Attractions across the Harrogate district have already started to release tickets.

And while Christmas might still be three months away, it’s advisable to act fast if you want to secure an audience with Mr Claus.

I’ve had the pleasure of taking my boys to meet him a few times over the years at various locations in the area.

Each experience has been excellent and we are definitely spoilt for choice. Santa is clearly a big fan of the Harrogate district.

To help you get organised, here are seven places to see Santa this year:

The Harrogate Father Christmas Experience – Cedar Court Hotel

It’s back and it has been hailed as “bigger and better than ever”.

Last year Father Christmas’s Chief Elf Tinsel, from Enchantica’s, delighted children and grown-ups alongside the big man himself at The Crown Hotel.

This Christmas you can join Santa, Tinsel and all of the Elves at a very magical Elf Village at the Cedar Court Hotel.

And those who are on the good elf list can book places to enjoy two shows this year:

Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, September 27 and you can be among the first to get them by signing up to the mailing list here.

November 26 – December 24. Check here for show dates, times and availability.

Christmas at Mother Shipton’s, Knaresborough

Wander through the winter woodland to see the enchanted Christmas Village, festooned with festive delights and merry displays.

Chief Elf Chestnut will meet little visitors and lead them to see Santa Claus in his cosy Christmas grotto.

Children will be presented with a pack of festive activities and will also be able to listen to tales from Holly Berry, make reindeer food and post a letter to Santa at the North Pole Post Office.

November 26 – December 24. Click here to buy tickets. 

The Magical Christmas Experience – Birchfield Farm, Summerbridge

This hugely popular experience is making a welcome return following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

Meet Mother Christmas in her sitting room to check in and collect your sleigh ride tickets.

Then head to the sleigh pick up point to be greeted by Buddy the Elf, who will help you board Santa’s sleigh for your magical sleigh ride .

You will arrive at father’s Christmas woodland grotto where you can sit by the fire and tell him your Christmas wishes.

November 26 – December 23. Click here to buy tickets.

Santa’s Grotto – Thorp Perrow Arboretum, Bedale

Follow the festive trail through the Arboretum, until you find yourself at the grotto, nestled deep in the woods.

The elves welcome and guide you through the winter wonderland, where you’ll meet a host of wonderful creatures before arriving outside Santa’s log cabin home.

Find him waiting in his cosy sitting room for a chat and a photo. He also has a gift for every child.

November 24 – December 24. Click here to buy tickets from September 26.

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Santa’s Grotto at Stockeld Park, Wetherby

Father Christmas will be bringing the magic back to Stockeld Park this winter.

With twinkling lights and Santa in a rustic wooden cabin, the whole family will feel the festive cheer.

Visitors can also check out the dazzling Winter Illuminations. 

November 19 – December 24. Click here to buy tickets.

Santa’s Magical Sunday Lunch – The Bridge Hotel and Spa, Walshford

The hotel’s popular Santa Sunday lunch is back for Christmas 2022.

The family dining experience features a table magician and face painter to entertain the children.

It also includes a visit to Father Christmas’s grotto with gifts for the children and an individual photo to take away.

Book now by calling 01937 580 115 or email reservations@bridgewetherby.co.uk

Into the Woods: A Fairytale Christmas – Castle Howard, York

This experience is slightly further afield, but is definitely worth a mention if you fancy some extravagance at Christmas.

After the sell-out success of last year’s ‘Christmas in Narnia’ experience, Charlotte Lloyd Webber Events and The Projection Studio are back and set to transform grand rooms into magical forests and faraway kingdoms.

Expect to be enchanted by theatrical installations and projections that bring to life your favourite fairytales. The sounds of glass slippers on ballroom floors and horse-drawn pumpkins will echo through the great halls via state-of-the-art soundscapes.

The theme also means Father Christmas will pay a special visit throughout December, bringing an immersive theatrical experience in the main house and a storytelling grotto in the courtyard.

Ticket prices will vary subject to whether you choose to book on a peak or off-peak date. You can buy them here.

On demand Yorbus sees over 13,000 trips in first year

More than 13,000 journeys were taken using the on demand YorBus service in its first year of operation.

Data from North Yorkshire County Council showed that 13,426 journeys had been taken by the end of July, requested by 850 riders.

In July 2022, there was an average of 51 trips per day.

The bus service serves an area to the north and west of Ripon including Masham, West Tanfield and Bedale.

The pilot scheme, started in July 2021, has now been extended for another year.

The statistics are included in a report on the service’s first year which will be discussed by the council’s Skipton and Ripon area committee next week.

Increasing journey numbers

Journey numbers have gradually increased since the start of the year.

Despite this, the council almost doubled fares for the service at the start of August to £2 for an adult and £1 for a child.

The number of journeys is also roughly seven times the council’s target for the scheme.

It initially hoped that 885 journeys would have been taken after six months.

However, the Transport Action Network has accused the council of setting the target deliberately low.

YorBus covers 217 square kilometres to the north and west of Ripon

Councillor Keane Duncan, the county council’s executive member for transport, celebrated YorBus’s first year in July. He said:

“YorBus has proved incredibly popular since its launch in July 2021, with extremely positive feedback from users.

“We will continue to review this demand-responsive service to help us explore rolling out YorBus to other parts of the county.”

The report also stated that almost half of users would drive if the service was not available. It argued:

“This shows that YorBus is helping to encourage North Yorkshire residents away from the private motor vehicle and onto public transport.”

£229,000 has been allocated to the service for 2022/23.

Next steps

The council will now look at its future plans for on demand YorBus service.

This could include group discount tickets, a joint promotion campaign with the National Trust and investigating the viability of rolling out of YorBus to other parts of the county.

Concerns raised over ‘success’ of rural bus pilot scheme in Ripon and Masham

A pilot scheme designed to provide public transport in rural areas with little or no services looks set to be extended for a year amid concerns restrictions deterring key potential customers will make it unsustainable.

 

Leading North Yorkshire County Council members will be asked to approve spending nearly £230,000 of taxpayers’ money on trialling its Yorbus demand-responsive bus service for a further year at a meeting on Friday, despite officers behind the initiative estimating it only stands to generate £12,833 in fares.

The authority has repeatedly stated its ambition to roll out its flagship rural transport scheme across the county if the pilot in the Masham, Ripon and Bedale area is a success.

‘Stronger than forecast’

An officers’ report to Friday’s meeting has underlined the pilot was being viewed as successful, partly because “patronage of the YorBus service has been stronger than forecast”.

However, following Freedom of Information Act requests to the council from the Transport Action Network and residents, it has been claimed the council deliberately set extremely low passenger targets to ensure Yorbus would be regarded as a success.

They say target passenger journeys were set at a total of 758 for the trial’s first three months and at 885 for the first six months, equating to just 0.9 and 0.5 passenger journeys per operating hour, assuming just one of the service’s two minibuses was operating for 11 hours a day.

On the same assumption, it transpired passenger journeys per operating hour were 2.9 trips per bus hour in the first three months and 3.4 per hour in the 14-seater vehicles over the first six months.

Padam, technology firm Siemens’ demand responsive transport software arm, estimates that to be fully commercial such services need an average of seven to eight people per vehicle throughout the day.

YorBusThe Yorbus service covers Ripon, Masham and Bedale

Campaigners say the low patronage was likely to have been artificially increased by Yorbus having a flat fare of £1.20, which would inevitably have to rise if rolled out across the county.

They added features of Yorbus, including the inability to book any trip the day before, will make it very difficult to attract sufficient passengers or be cost-effective, and that in the long-run it will be dropped.

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The officers’ report states preventing customers from booking rides in advance offers the service maximum flexibility and also maximises the ability to meet passenger demand.

However, Padam states “encouraging advance booking really helps with both increasing passenger numbers and operational planning” as people can plan their days in advance and depend on the service.

Padam states:

“We see around 75% of passengers booking in advance, which validates our expectation that people use this as reliable public transport rather than a taxi equivalent.”

Mark Parry, chair of Action for Yorkshire Transport, said his group questioned whether the service was value for money. He added:

“Given the nature of the service, I just wonder what North Yorkshire is trying to do by not having advance booking. If you are going to have demand-responsive transport I would certainly say you need some scope with advance bookings.”

Campaigners say while Yorbus’s low patronage figures could be considerably boosted by allowing advance bookings, particularly for people wanting to travel to work, passenger numbers could be significantly increased by offering a door-to-door service for elderly and disabled customers.

‘Virtual bus stops’

After initially only picking up passengers at recognised bus stops, some potential passengers complained that their village had no bus stop, so the council introduced “virtual bus stops”, which campaigners say have not been advertised and are few and far between.

Nevertheless, the council has revealed no intention to offer limited mobility passengers a door-to-door service as part of the pilot extension, but said it would consider introducing limited pre-booking, extending operating hours, and seeking funding to offer Yorbus in other parts of the county.

It added it would also look at developing its telephone contact option for customers, consider how to roll out return booking, and undertake a fares review, including incentivising such options as group bookings.

A council spokesman said the pilot would “enable options for a wider roll-out to be explored in more detail”.