Free buses and self-driving cars: What’s the future of York transport?

York transport is at a crossroads.

With a new local transport plan to be drawn up, and the future of the York Central site under debate, now is the time to consider the ways we move around the city.

To consider this, York Bus and Environment Forums are hosting a special event on the future of transport in York on Tuesday (April 10).

Entitled Beyond Flying Cars, it will consider transport York-wide while focusing on York Central, the “teardrop site” behind the station.

The railway lines make access to York Central a big challenge. Investment will be expensive and should be long-term: it needs future-proofing.

Do current proposals, which focus on cars, pass this test, and how can they be improved?

Lots of questions

The event will include blue skies thinking as well as short-term practicalities. What sort of York do you want for your grandchildren, and what sort of York do you want for next year? Above all, what to do with cars?

Also, what about buses? Twenty years down the line, waiting in the rain at a bus stop may be a thing of the past.

It could fly direct to your door. And it may be a shared taxi rather than a large bus. It may even drive itself!

How much of this is feasible or desirable? Should buses be free? Where do car-sharing and self-driving cars fit into all this? And what happens when the oil runs out?

All these questions and more are up for discussion. Everyone is invited to come along and bring their own.