Consultation on bus services for North Yorkshire closes soon
North Yorkshire County Council is inviting people to give their views on improvements
Last updated 4th Feb 2022
It's the last chance for people in North Yorkshire to give their views on the countywide improvements they would like to see to improve bus services across the county.
The County Council is consulting the public on proposals in its Bus Service Improvement Plan ahead of the creation of an enhanced partnership, which will see the council and local bus operators working more closely to improve services - but the consultation closes on Monday.
The Bus Service Improvement Plan sets out proposals to transform bus services across the county by making buses more frequent, more reliable, easier to understand and use, better co-ordinated and cheaper. The plan is dependent on funding from the Department for Transport and is in response to the Government’s National Bus Strategy, which aims to transform bus services with the aim of encouraging more people to choose to travel by bus.
The consultation invites views on how to achieve a more effective bus service, for example through improving infrastructure to benefit buses, improving information for customers, having consistent fares and increasing bus services based on customer demand rather than running on set routes at set times.
Executive Member for Access, Cllr Don Mackenzie, said: “Across North Yorkshire, buses play a vital role in supporting rural communities and helping residents to remain independent. Efficient bus services also enable and encourage us to leave our cars at home in favour of more sustainable transport, which reduces congestion, improves air quality, and helps us to keep fit.
“Through this consultation, we want to learn what developments are important to you, so that when the Department for Transport announces the funding the county will receive, we can prioritise the most effective measures.
“This consultation is about those countywide changes that can make a real difference. In this instance, we are not focusing of specific routes or services.”
The consultation began on Monday 10th January and run suntil Monday 7th February 2022.
Take part in the consultation online at www.northyorks.gov.uk/bsip. Before completing the survey, people will be able to read the proposals in the Bus Service Improvement Plan on that page.
For more information or if you require the survey in a different format, email epconsultation@northyorks.gov.uk or call 01609 780780. You can also email your views on the proposals to epconsultation@northyorks.gov.uk or write to Bus Service Improvement Plan Consultation, Central Admin Team, North Yorkshire County Council, County Hall, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 8AE.
Following the consultation, a report incorporating the feedback will go to the County Council’s Executive in March to consider the enhanced partnership with bus operators, with a view to that partnership coming into effect from 1 April 2022.