Plea over ‘desperate’ problem of loneliness over lost bus services
A council set to pump £3.5m into boosting bus services in the hope more people will start using them has been urged to consider investing more money into restoring services for some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.
A meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s Thirsk and Malton constituency committee saw councillors agree to meet residents and MP Kevin Hollinrake to examine how residents who lost bus services last year could regain access to public transport.
The committee, which has been given £50,000 to spend on economic regeneration and transport in the area, had faced questions from a resident as to what the authority was doing to eliminate “the biggest cause of loneliness”, social exclusion for the elderly.
The meeting heard the issue was becoming “desperate” in places such as Filey due to a lack of public transport.
The calls follow the county seeing timetable reductions or extra financial support given to about a third of its remaining bus services since the pandemic, partly due to rising operating costs and difficulties recruiting drivers. According to the 2021 census, there are about 200,000 residents aged over 60 in North Yorkshire and 63 per cent of households in the county have no or one car.
The meeting heard issues such as social isolation in and around North Yorkshire’s coastal communities had “come across loud and clear” in a recent recent public transport consultation run by the council.
A North Yorkshire Council transport spokesman explained how the Filey town service had been operated on a wholly commercial basis until the bus operator retired in May last year, and the council had since been unable to find any operator to take on the route.
However, councillors heard. Filey was still served by some daily bus services, while Dial a Ride would provide transport for longer distance health appointments, but the volunteer pre-booked door to door transport scheme the council was investigating would not suit pensioners with items such as shopping trolleys.
Filey councillor Sam Cross said residents of the town were suffering and the council needed to put forward money to support transport solutions and that £50,000 would be required to get the town’s service reinstated.
However, the council’s finance boss, Councillor Gareth Dadd said finding £50,000 for every town in North Yorkshire to have a bus service was “unachievable”. He said: “We have got to be clear and honest with people. If there’s not bums on seats for those buses, the chances are they ain’t going to run. The prospect of getting a service at £50,000 just in Filey, in my view is tenuous to say the least.”
The news comes as the Government announced funding for nearly 1,000 new electric buses.
Twenty-five councils across England have been awarded a share of £143m to purchase a total of 955 zero-emission buses. Rural areas have been prioritised, as part of the Government’s plan to improve local transport connections. Yorkshire and the Humber will get £5.7m.