North Yorkshire's Mayor says he's going to invest £95 million improving transport
David Skaith says cash will be spent to make public transport more accessible, affordable, and convenient
£95 million pounds is going to be spent on North Yorkshire's public transport and road network.
The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire has confirmed the money will be spent over the next year.
A big slice of the cash will be spent on buses which David Skaith admits "aren't good enough".
Mayor David Skaith said,
“Buses across York and North Yorkshire are not good enough, today marks a landmark step in the journey to fix that.
"From today I will be working tirelessly to get our buses working for people and communities across our region.
"Over the next year I'll be investing £95m into our region's transport and highways, improving bus stops, making our streets safer for children to get to school, and taking action to fix our roads thanks to an extra £16m from government to tackle potholes across the region.”
So far, the Mayor has committed to;
- Protecting the cheaper fares for NHS staff at York Hospital
- Connecting young people to opportunity by integrating £1 fares for under-19s in York and North Yorkshire.
- Boosting vital rural services by awarding an additional £50,000 to both the Moorsbus and DalesBus
- And adding an extra evening service from Harrogate to Pateley Bridge
York College & University Centre Principal and Chief Executive Ken Merry said:
“I think it’s great that the Mayor has extended the £1 fares to allow our students and apprentices to use public transport to get to and from college. As the largest provider of education across York and North Yorkshire, this will really benefit many of our students, particularly those trying to get to T-level and apprenticeship placements.”
The Mayor has given £31,000 to Moorsbus, one of very few volunteer ran bus services in the country.
Eden Blyth, a Moorsbus director said,:
“This funding makes a huge difference to what we can give both residents and visitors. Thanks to this funding, we have been able to extend our offer from four months to five and have also added a new service between Castle Howard and Helmsley via the Howardian Hills.
David Skaith continued,
“This is a huge step forward to creating a transport service that connects people to opportunities. I'm starting as I mean to go on and showing what my priorities will be as our long-term funding is secured - investing in young people, rural services and helping people get to work.”
“Safeguarding and improving our rural buses will also make a huge impact on our more isolated communities. Bettering resident’s journey’s out of the area, but also visitor’s journey’s in, protecting our thriving visitor economy and promoting connection with our vast and beautiful landscapes. I have seen, first-hand, the support DalesBus and MoorsBus do for our really rural areas and that is why I am committing extra funding to them, as well as adding an additional service from Harrogate to Pateley Bridge.”
This year, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority will consult on a Local Transport Plan, setting the plans to deliver the Strategic Transport Framework.