• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

News and entertainment worth sharing – York and North Yorkshire

  • News
  • Things to do
  • Radio
  • More
    • Food & drink
    • Business
  • About
    • Comments
    • Advertise
    • Contact us
  • Radio
  • WIN
  • Tonne of tins
  • Vouchers
  • Listen live »
Jorvik Viking Festival

‘A major relief’: York bus service saved from the axe – for now

A York bus seen from the city walls. Photograph: YorkMix
Wed 11 Jan, 2023 @ 3.17 pm News Joe Cooper - Local Democracy Reporter

York councillors have welcome news that an under-threat bus route has been given a temporary reprieve.

First York announced in December that it was to withdraw the 12 and 12A service from 23 January, citing a slow recovery in passenger numbers, increased operating costs and a shortage of drivers.

Currently, the service runs from Monday to Saturday approximately every half an hour between Foxwood, Woodthorpe and York city centre, and approximately every hour between the city centre, Heworth and Monks Cross.

York Theatre Royal Panto - Peter Pan
Advertisement

Under the short-term contract, the new operator will receive £59k in financial support in the form of a subsidy from the council to keep an hourly service running until the end of March.

The council will use part of its 2022/2023 bus service improvement plan funding, provided by the Department of Transport, to meet the cost.

It follows a campaign launched by Liberal Democrat councillors and campaigners to save the number 12 bus, which has seen more than a thousand residents sign a petition and more than 40 attend a public meeting on its future.

Cllr Simon Daubeney, Westfield, said the news was “a major relief” to residents in Woodthorpe, Acomb Park and Foxwood who were facing “the loss of their only public transport service”.

Cllr Stephen Fenton, Dringhouses and Woodthorpe, added: “The reduction in frequency from every half hour to every hour is disappointing, but if it is a more reliable service, then hopefully more people will be attracted to using it.

“It’s really crucial now that as many people as possible use the service to ensure that once April comes around, the operator can see the benefits and financial case for sustaining the service in the long term.”

Preserving routes

A public meeting about the bus route on 18 December. Left to right: Pippa Hepworth, Cllr Stephen Fenton , Cllr Simon Daubeney and Cllr Andrew Waller. Photograph: York Lib Dems

A separate tender exercise for the period after March will now take place, but the council has warned that it cannot provide unlimited subsidies if users don’t return to the buses or Government funding is not extended after March 2023.

It has also stepped in to support the 13 and 412 services over the short-term in recent weeks.

The council now says it will now focus on preserving routes, rather than bus frequencies – and it will not fund current commercial services where a reduction in frequency is an option for the operator.

Cllr Fenton added: “This intervention by the council is no substitute for a sustainable long term approach to running bus services which are facing unprecedented challenges.”

The new operator will be revealed once the contract has been awarded.

A spokesperson for City of York Council, said: “Given the need to ensure the service was safeguarded before the end of January, we’ve taken swift steps to carry out a short-notice tender exercise to seek a replacement service between 23 January and 31 March 2023. This tender process has now concluded, and the award will be announced shortly.”

Trending

  1. Hundreds of York bars and cafés at risk of collapse say city leaders
  2. York pair sentenced for murder of Leeds man
  3. Store plan would mark ‘the end of the road’ for key York shopping street

Wed 11 Jan, 2023

1 Comment
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Muppet Cam
18 days ago

The mostly empty no.12 bus, we call it the ghost bus. Part of the problem is journey time, it goes round Woodthorpe twice and always has. Then it has to go to Haxby and back – why not terminate in the city centre and a seperate service to and from Haxby? Why did First then also extend the route to venture into Foxwood – Foxwood is well served with frequent buses, double deckers at that. The 12 has to be the most convoluted bus route I know in York, can someone suggest a worse one?

3

Footer

YorkMix
News 01904 848 766
Email YorkMix news »
5-6 King's Court, Shambles, York  YO1 7LD
YorkMix Radio
General enquiries 01904 375 029
Studio/competitions 01904 375 030
Email YorkMix Radio »
Selby Superbowl, Bawtry Road, Selby  YO8 8NA
YorkMix is a trading name of YorkMix Media Ltd
Registered in England
Company number: 07814727
VAT number: 154 0364 34
© York Sound Ltd

Copyright © 2023 YorkMix Media Ltd

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
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
wpDiscuz