Encouraging more people to use buses
Cllr Carl Les, Leader, North Yorkshire County Council
Residents are being encouraged to take advantage of North Yorkshire’s vast bus network to help support services at a critical time.
The bus network across North Yorkshire, which is England’s largest county, has been placed under unprecedented pressure due to a combination of factors as passenger numbers have dwindled.
The Covid-19 pandemic had a profound impact on public transport across the country, and many passengers have not returned to public transport as working habits and lifestyles have changed.
Passenger numbers in North Yorkshire have recovered but they are not yet back to pre-pandemic levels, having broadly returned to about 80 per cent. Without more passengers returning to their local buses additional funding will be needed to ensure services continue.
The public are being encouraged to look towards bus travel as their preferred mode of transport otherwise more routes will be lost. The stark reality is that the survival of many services across the county are on a knife edge. We know how important public transport is for many residents but we are in a use it or lose it situation.
Throughout the pandemic, the Government provided significant support to commercial companies to keep services running in North Yorkshire that would otherwise have been lost.
While it is very welcome that the funding has been extended until March, we know many routes are continuing to struggle and companies tell us it will be impossible for these to continue operating without significant additional funding. For more details visit www.northyorks.gov. uk/info/notice-enhancedpartnership-ep-plan-andscheme-have-been-made
Publicencouraged to look towards bus travel as a preferred mode of transport