Payments for buses, trains and other public transport services could be brought into one system by the end of the year under plans for York and North Yorkshire.
The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority is set to explore options for integrated ticketing including through a new online app under recently-approved transport plans.
Mayor David Skaith told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) it was part of wider efforts to make the different parts of the region’s transport system work together more effectively.
It follows the approval of the combined authority’s Strategic Transport Framework which sets out plans for the region for the coming year.
Goals set out in the Framework for this year include improving bus services and assessing options for the regional system such as London and Manchester-style franchising.
Efforts to bring information about bus and train times along with ticketing into one real-time system are also set to get underway this year.
Work to improve rail line speed and capacity between York and Scarborough to achieve Mr Skaith’s pledge for a two-train-an-hour service also remains ongoing.
The Labour told LDRS no decisions had been made yet on the future of buses, but the region’s model would look different to those brought in elsewhere.
LDRS understands options for buses include a franchising model where private firms are contracted to operate services while the combined authority sets routes, timetables and fares.
Other options include a region-wide Enhanced Partnership where companies reach agreements with councils and other stakeholders on how services will run.
Speaking following the approval of the Framework on Friday, March 7, the mayor said: “We know that whatever model we use for buses will be unique.
“We’re working with the Government on what that will look like as we speak, it’s an incredibly complex piece of work.
“We may even end up with two or three types models, with one for York and others for the more rural and coastal areas.
“As far as timescales go we’re hoping we can put this together quickly but there’s no date for us to launch it yet.
Integrated travel
Mr Skaith said plans for an integrated travel system aimed to join up entire journeys across different modes of transport while tackling issues that put people off.
The mayor said: “At the moment we’ve got different operators running transport in York with different prices.
“Integration would mean that tickets could be bought in one place and it would mean there wouldn’t be different pricing around the region and across borders.
“The wider integrated transport system would join up bus and rail operators so you wouldn’t have a situation where someone arrives on the train at Selby Station say and their last bus is leaving.
“It’s about removing the glitches here and there that put people off using public transport.”
The mayor said they were exploring whether the region’s £1 bus fare offer for under 19s could be extended, potentially up to under 25s.
He added officials were also looking at options for cross-border travel following the signing of the White Rose Agreeement with West Yorkshire’s Tracy Brabin and South Yorkshire’s Oliver Coppard.
The mayor also spoke about how the combined authority wanted to go about improving rail services in the region.
Mr Skaith said: “We also want to have a Yorkshire-wide young person’s ticket that would create so much more opportunities to travel around the region and further afield.
“Young people want to use public transport but at the moment it’s a real challenge for us, you’ve got colleges spending a small fortune supplementing travel for their students.
“We’re working closely with TransPennine Express to try and overcome the challenges with the York to Scarborough rail service.
“Those challenges aren’t just about York and Scarborough but they’re along the whole of that corridor, one issue is a shortage of drivers so we’re looking at how we could speed their training up.
“We’re still working on accessiblity issues as well because the station at Scarborough can’t take longer trains so we want to expand the platform to open that opportunity up.
“We’ve got a list as long as our arm for rail opportunities, York Station’s probably the best-connected outside of London so what happens there will have a knock-on effect up in Tees Valley.
“Bottlenecks at Northallerton Station also need to be addressed and we need to improve east to west connectivity.”