Bus services across the Harrogate district are under “unprecedented” pressure thanks to dwindling passenger numbers, leaving some routes at risk of being cut.
North Yorkshire County Council has issued a stark warning that, faced with passenger numbers of only around 80% of their previous levels, additional funding would be needed to maintain services.
The authority’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, said unless more people travel by bus, the new North Yorkshire Council may be unable to maintain the existing services.
A planned cut of funding from the Department for Transport has been delayed from October until March, but local authorities face reduced income and rising costs even before the money runs out.
Cllr Les said:
“We are in a time of immense pressure for bus services nationally and North Yorkshire is no exception.
“Throughout the pandemic, the government has provided significant support to commercial companies to keep services running in North Yorkshire that would otherwise have been lost.
“While it is very welcome that this has been extended until March, we know many routes are continuing to struggle and companies tell us it will be impossible for these to continue operating without significant additional funding.
“The stark reality is that the survival of many services across the county are on a knife edge. We know how important public transport is for many residents but we are in a use it or lose it situation.”
The drop in passenger numbers follows the covid pandemic, with more people now thought to be working from home or using other modes of transport.
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NYCC has already tried to mitigate the impact of the pressures on bus services by setting up an enhanced partnership agreement, which met for the first time in August.
It sees the council work with bus operators to improve facilities and introduce measures to enhance operating conditions.
North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said the problems were down to the drop in passenger numbers, making many more routes unsustainable. He said:
MP Andrew Jones ‘disappointed’ at funding snub for £116m bid to boost bus services“This is an unprecedented situation with around a third of the network at risk of seeing a reduced level of service or ceasing altogether unless patronage levels improve.
“We have already seen several routes cease, often at short notice, and the unfortunate expectation is that others may follow unless usage improves.
“While the council uses £1.6m each year to support services that are not commercially viable, this cannot meet the scale of the challenge we are now experiencing from routes operating without council subsidy.
“The council has been successful in lobbying government for extra financial support, but we accept this will not continue in perpetuity. We are working closely with operators to encourage passengers to use services and protect them for our communities.”
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.”
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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:
Bus strategy ‘hollow’ without more money, says Harrogate Bus Company boss“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.”
The boss of Harrogate Bus Company has said the government’s Bus Back Better strategy to make services more affordable and reliable will be “hollow” without more funding.
Alex Hornby’s comments come after council officials warned North Yorkshire would not get “anything near” the £116million it bid for from the scheme, which promises to “transform” services but has seen its budget slashed from £3billion to £1.4billion.
Mr Hornby, who is chief executive of Harrogate Bus Company’s parent firm Transdev Blazefield, said the scheme will be “insufficient” to fund all proposed improvements across the country, including those planned for Harrogate. he said:
“We felt the plans for Harrogate were ambitious with new bus priority on the main bus routes to make buses faster and more reliable – things us and our customers want, and what we know will attract more people on board.
“These plans are not new – they have been waiting for funding since before the pandemic – and we hope North Yorkshire County Council will continue to seek funding.
“We have worked solidly with the county council on their enhanced partnership, but it’s a bit hollow without funding for enhancements.”
The council will next month enter into a new “enhanced partnership” with bus operators in order for North Yorkshire to get access to funding for its proposed £116million Bus Service Improvement Plan.
The plan asks for £23million to build more bus lanes, £74million for other infrastructure improvements and £14million for support for services.
There are also proposals for a simpler ticketing system and better information on journeys.
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However, council officials have warned it was “unlikely” that North Yorkshire would receive all of the £116million it bid for and that there was a possibility it could get no funding at all.
Harrogate congestion
They said any funding received would be prioritised to areas where they believe it is needed the most, including Harrogate, which has some of the best bus services in North Yorkshire but still suffers with the worst traffic congestion.
Included in the plans is a park and ride pilot scheme for Harrogate, and officials expressed confidence that enough cash could still come forward for this.
They also said the on-demand bus service, YorBus, which allows app users to book and track journeys in Ripon, Masham and Bedale would also be high on the priority list for financial support.
Separately, council officials said they were also confident about another bid for £8million of government cash to make all of Harrogate Bus Company’s fleet electric.
If successful, Transdev would contribute £11.5million towards the costs of buying 39 zero-emission buses.
A government decision on this bid is expected before the end of the month.
Mr Hornby said even without government funding, Harrogate Bus Company’s network has still improved in recent years as he also set out some of the areas that he believes should be prioritised for investment:
MP supports Harrogate business woman who’s had no income during crisis“New housing developers will help expand the network and we would encourage colleagues at North Yorkshire County Council to focus on improving the infrastructure and bus shelters, some of which are now well past their best.
“Our bus network in Harrogate has thrived without capital spending from the public sector thanks to our investment in the class-leading fleet on the 36, the first all-electric town network and in new and refreshed low emission buses elsewhere.”
The woman who runs music classes for toddlers and says she’s had no financial support during lockdown has been backed by her local MP.
Hannah Ruddy, who is classified as a sole trader, runs Musicality Kids in Harrogate and says she is one of the many people who has “fallen through the gaps” for government funding. Since March she has not earned any money.
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has joined a cross-party group of MPs which aims to stand up for people like Hannah who have been excluded from coronavirus government support schemes.
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In 2018, Hannah decided to leave employment and set up on her own teaching music. She told The Stray Ferret:
“Many people have been excluded for many reasons but when you’ve worked the whole time, paid tax for 22 years and put your own money into building up a business, it’s very difficult to accept that you are not eligible for any help, despite being unable to carry out your business for several months.”
Before lockdown, Hannah Ruddy from Musicality Kids was teaching 120 children a week.
The cross-party group was formed by Lib Dem MP Jamie Stone. He told The Stray Ferret:
“I set up this All-Party Parliamentary Group after hearing the overwhelming and heart-breaking number of stories from the millions who have been excluded from government support during this global pandemic…I am so pleased to have Andrew Jones join the 222 other MPs who are supporting the excluded.”