Bus Service Improvement Plan

Updated 2024

Executive summary

In Spring 2021, the Department for Transport published the National Bus Strategy which required all Local Transport Authorities to develop a Bus Service Improvement Plan by October 2021. The Bus Service Improvement Plan is designed to enhance local bus services and encourage modal shift. It provides an opportunity to assess our current offer to passengers, work with operators to deliver improvements and outline an ambitious vision for the future. Following the publication of our Bus Service Improvement Plan in October 2021, the council and bus operators 'made’ an Enhanced Partnership in Spring 2022. The role of an Enhanced Partnership, which comprises a decision-making Board and a stakeholder Forum, is to deliver bus service improvements developed from the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

Local Government Organisation

When the first Bus Service Improvement Plan was published in October 2021, North Yorkshire was a two-tier authority, with the county council and seven district and borough councils serving the area.

In April 2023, the two-tier council structure was replaced by a single unitary authority, covering the same area. The single unitary council is now known as North Yorkshire Council.

Devolution

City of York and North Yorkshire councils have negotiated a devolution deal between central government and local authorities for York and North Yorkshire. A new mayoral combined authority was established in February 2024 with a mayor for the region elected on May 2nd who will receive devolved funding for transport, education and business support, alongside a Mayoral Investment Fund worth £540m (£18m per year over 30 years).

Update to the 2021 Bus Service Improvement Plan

This document provides an update to the North Yorkshire Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) published in October 2021 by North Yorkshire County Council.

On 4 April 2022, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced only 31 local authorities would receive funding to help deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans. Unfortunately, North Yorkshire County Council was unsuccessful in receiving funding from the DfT.

Like many areas across the county, the bus industry in North Yorkshire has faced a number of challenges including driver shortages, increased costs and wait time for materials and slow recovery of concessionary passengers. This updated Bus Service Improvement Plan outlines the current bus network, sets out our improvement programme for 2024/25 and our ambitions for the following five years. With the establishment of the Mayoral Combined Authority in February 2024 and the mayoral election in May, we are working closely with City of York to ensure our Bus Service Improvement Plan plans align and that passengers will see a joined-up approach on bus fares and services. Future Bus Service Improvement Plan funding for both authorities will go via the MCA, with the mayor delivering a single Bus Service Improvement Plan document for both authorities in 2025. Our one-year Bus Service Improvement Plan refresh will allow the MCA freedom to move forward in their desired direction from 2025/26.

Our bus vision

We will build on the ambitions set out in the North Yorkshire Council Plan, with a strong local focus on our Place and Environment priorities to deliver:

An efficient and accessible bus network in North Yorkshire that:

• meets the needs of our local communities
• enables people to be active and independent and businesses to flourish
• provides excellent customer service
• is easy to use and offers simple payment and fares

Our bus services will enable sustainable, greener and healthier travel choices. We expect that this will result in fewer car journeys, reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality in North Yorkshire.

Improving our bus services will help make North Yorkshire a great place to live, visit, work and invest in.

This Bus Service Improvement Plan will form part of the Council’s Climate Change Strategy and Local Transport Plan.

North Yorkshire Council welcomes the Government’s National Bus Strategy and its aims to transform bus services across the country through making buses:

• more frequent
• more reliable
• easier to understand and use
• better co-ordinated
• cheaper to use

These aims are recognised in our bus vision and are central to the 2024/25 delivery plan and our ambitions for 2025 to 2030. Responding to the launch of the National Bus Strategy, the County Council’s Executive approved a recommendation to create an Enhanced Partnership with local bus operators and to create a Bus Service Improvement Plan. The first Bus Service Improvement Plan was published in October 2021, with the Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme legally ‘made’ in Spring 2023.

The Enhanced Partnership Board has endorsed this Bus Service Improvement Plan and supports the following objectives:

North Yorkshire Bus Service Improvement Plan objectives:

• a high quality, coordinated and integrated bus network: Develop a network of punctual and reliable services to give customers confidence that the bus will turn up and get them to their intended destination in the time expected. Ensure buses are accessible for all and address the needs of passengers in areas where commercial bus services are not viable
   
• simple payment and ticketing options: Develop simple, convenient and easy to use payment options for customers
   
• introduce simple, convenient fares for young people to make using local bus services a viable alternative to the purchase of a private car
   
• simple, clear, and freely available information: Promote bus routes as a single network and provide easily accessible and reliable travel information for all passengers
   
• excellent customer service: Provide consistent and excellent customer service across North Yorkshire

A North Yorkshire Bus Service Improvement Plan

This Bus Service Improvement Plan will cover the whole of the North Yorkshire area and is aligned with the authority’s Local Transport Plan (LTP).

North Yorkshire underwent local government reorganisation in 2022/23, with a new single unitary council being created and established with effect from 1st April 2023. this new Unitary Council replaced the previous two-tier council and will enable the North Yorkshire Council to achieve greater efficiency, reducing costs and streamlining decision making. The single tier council is known as North Yorkshire Council. Figure 1 below shows the North Yorkshire boundary with the local area constituency areas.

North Yorkshire is the largest county in England and one of the most rural. Located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region it extends into Northeast England, stretching from Selby in the south to the fringes of Middlesbrough in the north and Cumbria to the west. The county covers an area of 8,000km2, has a population of 615,400 (ONS 2021 census) and an average density of 69 people/km2.

In February 2024 a new Combined Authority came into existence for York and North Yorkshire, with a new mayor elected on 2nd May 2024. The creation of a Mayoral Combined Authority for York and North Yorkshire (YNYCA) will bring significant new investment into the area and will provide a strategic focus for the combined area and the wider region. An early priority for the new Mayor’s office will be to bring the North Yorkshire and City of York Bus Service Improvement Plans together in a new, ambitious joint plan to define bus travel for the coming decades. It is intended that the 2024 North Yorkshire and York Bus Service Improvement Plans will be endorsed by the MCA in preparation for the single combined Plan being prepared for 2025.

Figure 1: North Yorkshire Council area showing local constituency boundaries

Policy context

Development of this Bus Service Improvement Plan takes account of relevant national, regional and local policy and strategies, including:

• The Council Plan
• Climate Strategy 2023-2030
• Local Transport Plan (LTP)
• York and North Yorkshire Strategic Transport Framework 2024
• Bus Service Improvement Plan

There is a strong strategic case for enhanced bus passenger transport that is articulated in these policies and this ambition is also reflected consistently in responses to engagement undertaken with local stakeholders. Our Bus Service Improvement Plan sits within our Local Transport Plan and works alongside our Climate Change Strategy to support these ambitions and set out proposals for improvements for people who live, work or visit the county.

Current bus offer to passengers

The North Yorkshire Bus Service Improvement Plan is an ambitious plan that seeks to stimulate and drive significant improvements to local bus services across the local authority area. This section provides an overview of the current North Yorkshire bus network and considers performance against the aims of the National Bus Strategy.

Overview

North Yorkshire has three distinct bus markets and commercial networks broadly aligning to the three largest towns and their respective area; Harrogate, Scarborough and Selby. Each links with neighbouring towns and cities outside of North Yorkshire:

• Leeds in West Yorkshire for the Harrogate network
• the City of York, Leeds, and Pontefract for the Selby network
• Middlesbrough and Bridlington for the Scarborough network

Bus services in the rest of the county are mainly tendered by North Yorkshire Council, supported by local community transport services, with some inter-urban commercial services providing the following links:

• Skipton with Keighley
• Northallerton with Middlesbrough
• Thirsk with York
• Malton with York

North Yorkshire also has a strong seasonal tourism market with many bus operators as well as the Dalesbus and Moorsbus Community Interest Companies providing additional services or increasing summer frequencies in the key tourism locations.

As a predominantly rural county, North Yorkshire does not suffer from widespread congestion but there are significant issues in Harrogate, Scarborough, Selby and Malton, as well as at many schools around start and finish times (where air quality can also be a concern). Seasonal tourist traffic can add pressures to the road network in the summer months, particularly in popular visitor destinations such as Scarborough and Whitby, the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales.

Key commercial networks

The most frequent services in the county are found in Harrogate. These include:

• Service 1 group between Knaresborough and Harrogate running every 10 minutes
• Harrogate town services branded as ‘Harrogate Electrics,’ running up to every 20 minutes using zero emission buses
• the high-profile Service 36, running up to every 10 minutes between Ripon, Harrogate and Leeds using high specification luxury double deck buses

Scarborough also benefits from frequent services including:

• Service group 7 between Scarborough and Eastfield, running up to every 7/8 minutes
• Service 12/13 between Scarborough, Filey and Bridlington, running up to every 20 minutes during the Summer season.

Selby is linked to York by Service 415 running every 15 minutes under Arriva’s Sapphire premium service brand

Interurban and regional services

Regional connectivity is provided by longer distance and interurban bus services that play a crucial role in linking networks together. These services also provide the potential for multi-modal journeys with links to rail stations. These include:

• Service X26/X27, running up to every 30 minutes between Catterick, Richmond and Darlington (Darlington Rail Station)
• Services X4 and X93/X94 between Whitby, Scarborough and Middlesbrough, running up to every 30 minutes and passing the rail stations in each of these three towns

Coastliner service 843 is the longest bus route in North Yorkshire, running hourly between Leeds, Tadcaster, York, Malton and Scarborough. It provides important cross-boundary links using branded high specification double deck buses, making the route popular with tourists.

These interurban services, along with the local networks within Harrogate, Scarborough and Selby, form the backbone of the North Yorkshire bus network and account for most of the journeys made.

These services are commercially operated and have benefited from operator investment in recent years, including new vehicles, improved payment facilities and ticketing options, marketing and branding initiatives and enhanced customer amenities such as free on-board Wi-Fi, USB charging and audio-visual stop announcements.

Services in more rural areas

Outside the three most populous areas of Harrogate, Scarborough, and Selby and away from the key interurban corridors, services generally operate up to every two hours and with limited evening and weekend services. Most routes require financial support from North Yorkshire Council.

To the west of the county, the bus network is focussed on the main town of Skipton with regular links into the West Yorkshire towns of Ilkley and Keighley as well as to Settle and Grassington.

Leisure and tourism are important with additional routes operating across the Yorkshire Dales through the summer season.

In the area around Richmond and Northallerton, most routes operate at a frequency of two hourly or less during weekday daytime. There are some routes with a higher service frequency: Service 28A between Stokesley and Middlesbrough and X26/X27 Richmond to Darlington both operate hourly and service 73, which provides an up to half hourly connection between Bedale and Northallerton.

The Thirsk and Malton area benefits from two, long distance services, the hourly Coastliner route and the two hourly Service 128 from Helmsley to Scarborough as well as the hourly Service 30 from Easingwold to York. There is also a network of summer weekend services to the North Yorks Moors.

Much of North Yorkshire is very rural with low population density and significant distances between settlements. These are challenging locations for bus operators to provide commercial services.

Travel by car is the dominant mode and 82.2% of households have access to at least one car against the national average of 74.3%. Bus services in these areas are heavily dependent on North Yorkshire Council funding to operate with most services operating up to every two hours and with limited evening or Sunday services. This is partly due to there being fewer fare paying passengers with only 38% on journeys in more rural locations being made by fare payers and 62% using an England National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) card.

Map showing the bus network is shown in Appendix A, with a list of financially supported bus services given in Appendix B.

Demand responsive and community transport services

Community transport services play a vital role in meeting local transport needs, particularly in our more rural areas. Working in partnership with communities to establish community-operated, timetabled bus services, NYC has had considerable success over the last ten years in areas with limited or no commercial bus provision. In the Upper Dales area of Richmond, which is one of the most rural areas in North Yorkshire, 41,365 journeys were made in 2023/24 using community transport, showing the value of this type of transport provision.

As highlighted by the Community Transport Association1, community transport is typically:

• small-scale
• dependent on subsidies
• is only made viable through continued volunteer involvement
• on a not-for-profit basis

Community transport is often the only public transport option where bus services have been withdrawn due to not being profitable. The council also directly operates community transport services under a Section 22 community bus permit when an operator cannot be secured to run contracted socially necessary bus services.

We provide access to capital grants as well as revenue support for both community car schemes and dial-a-ride services.

North Yorkshire has an established network of community transport operators under the Go Local brand, defining consistent safety and service standards across providers. Go Local services include dial-a-ride, wheels to work, community minibuses and car/lift share.

As well as community car and dial-a-ride schemes there are a number of timetabled local bus routes commissioned by NYC and operating under a section 22 community bus permit including:

• the Upper Wharfedale Venturer - a community operated scheduled bus service in Craven district which runs between Buckden and Grassington, with buses timed to connect with Keighley Bus Company 72 services to Skipton
   
• four scheduled services run by The Little White Bus, include limited bookable DRT elements in Richmondshire, providing east-west connectivity
   
• Ryedale Community Transport - services 173, 174, 175, 176W, 176S, 177, 182, 184 and 185

Local bus operators

North Yorkshire has many bus operators with generally a single dominant operator in urban areas.

There are 22 operators with registered local bus services in North Yorkshire, operating from 32 sites. The three largest operators broadly align with the three main commercial bus networks described earlier in this section, Arriva in Selby, East Yorkshire Buses in Scarborough and Transdev in Harrogate. Arriva also operates in the north of the county as part of its Arriva Northeast division, and Transdev covers several parts of the county in addition to operations in Harrogate, including services in Skipton and the interurban Coastliner service between Leeds and Scarborough via Tadcaster and Malton. Medium-sized operators in North Yorkshire include Connexions, Hodgsons, Reliance and Dales & District.

Out of a fleet of approximately 270 vehicles based in the county, there will be 47 zero emission electric buses in operation by October 2024. This is following a successful ZEBRA funding bid by North Yorkshire County Council which will contribute £7.8 million towards the £21 million being invested by Transdev operator the Harrogate Bus Company. This will see the entire Harrogate depot converted to electric bus operation and additional opportunity charging technology for Harrogate bus station.

Analysis of existing bus services compared to Bus Service Improvement Plan outcomes

This section considers the performance of the current network up to 2023/ 24 against the overarching themes of the National Bus Strategy which are:

• greater network coverage
• better modal integration
• lower fares
• simpler ticketing
• clearer bus information
• improved customer service

Spending on local bus services for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 is shown below, the priority for the last two years has been retaining network coverage and supporting the recovery of passenger numbers.

Our investment programme for 2024 will now deliver improvements in all these areas and is outlined in section 3 below.

Table 1: Spending on local bus services

2023-2024 £000s	Supported bus services	Community transport	Concessionary fares reimbursement	Bus infrastructure	Zero emission buses	Promotion and publicity	Total
North Yorkshire Council funding	2329	418	6400	95	0	28	9270
DfT funding	2864	0	0	0	7800 Grant received in 2023 but will be spent in 2024-2025, not included in totals	0	2864
Total	5193	418	6400	95	0	28	12134

 

2022-2023 £000s	Supported bus services	Community transport	Concessionary fares reimbursement	Bus infrastructure	Zero emission buses	Promotion and publicity	Total
North Yorkshire Council funding	2224	344	5931	91	0	65	8655
DfT funding	1562	0	0	0	0	0	1562
Total	3786	344	5931	91	0	65	10217

Network coverage and integration

Since 2021, our priority has been maintaining existing bus services and supporting the recovery in passenger numbers following the Covid-19 pandemic. Passenger numbers fell by around 90% during the pandemic and while we have since seen a gradual recovery, the bus network is still under significant pressure. In 2023/24 bus companies have also been contending with difficulties in recruiting drivers, shortages of spare parts, higher operating costs as well as less income being generated from bus fares. Bus network review work carried out in 2022 identified that over 70 bus routes in North Yorkshire were at risk of withdrawal or significant reduction but, aided by financial support from both the council and Department for Transport almost all routes have been retained. While there have been some frequency reductions overall network coverage has been retained. Our delivery plan for 2024/25 will see timetable improvements on many of these routes as we look to grow the network.

Up to 2023/24, evening and Sunday journeys have only been provided where these were either commercially viable or commissioned by Dalesbus or Moorsbus, both community interest companies. These organisations are dependent on fundraising or donations and provide largely seasonal weekend services into the Yorkshire Dales or North York Moors. This focus will change in our 2024-2025 improvement programme which will see a move towards more seven day a week provision.

Integration works well for inter-bus transfers but is more challenging with rail services as in many cases both the bus and train timetable are operating relatively infrequently and to a nonregular headway. Rail connections are a particular focus for some bus routes along the Settle to Carlisle line, such as at Garsdale station, where clearly identified connections are advertised.

Payment and ticketing

There is a wide range of bus ticket types on sale in North Yorkshire with each operator having their own branding and pricing approach to weekly, monthly and longer-term tickets. The introduction of the National £2 Fare Cap scheme in January 2023 has significantly changed the fares landscape, making bus travel much more affordable, particularly for less frequent travellers. The fare cap scheme is currently in place until December 2024.

Provision of discounted fares for younger people is especially variable with no consistent qualifying age or discount offered across all operators and Under-19’s discounts only offered on some services. Addressing this will be a focus of our 2024 improvement programme.

There is little in the way of multi operator or multi-modal ticketing. PLUSBUS is available for bus and train travel from selected rail stations and can only be bought from train operating companies. Travelling by more than one operator or mode generally requires the purchase of separate tickets. While this is less of a barrier while the Fare Cap scheme is in place it is also part of our 2024 improvement plan.

Daily fare capping is not currently widely available in North Yorkshire.

Bus information

The availability and quality of bus service information varies considerably across the county. The three largest operators have their own websites, apps and produce their own publicity; including wayside publicity on some major routes. Information provision from the other operators in the county is varied and comes in a range of sources. We know that the Bus Service Improvement Plan is a good opportunity to reform the provision of information and ensure an agreed and consistent approach to the provision of information across all operators and areas of the county.

Operators are generally responsible for providing roadside publicity. However, exceptions arise on certain stops with multiple operators where responsibility has been taken on by North Yorkshire Council.

The Traveline website provides information for all scheduled bus timetables nationally but does not provide other important information such as fares, tickets, current diversions or information on local attractions. Information on demand responsive and community transport services is not typically provided through the journey planner.

Some bus operators are working directly with other businesses and agencies to promote bus travel but this focusses on specific destinations in a relatively small part of the county, not the entire bus network.

There are strong local bus brands in North Yorkshire, as encouraged by the National Bus Strategy.

These brands relate to services focussed on Harrogate, Ripon, Malton and Scarborough.

Accessibility and infrastructure

In recent years the on-street environment for passengers in our urban areas has significantly improved with increased numbers of dropped kerbs, raised kerbs at all stops on urban key corridors and shelters with seating at key locations.

However, North Yorkshire has over 4000 bus stops, many in remote rural locations or conservation areas where upgrading bus stop infrastructure can be challenging. We will be carrying out an audit of bus stops across the county in 2024/25 are aiming to improve accessibility and information provision.

Customer service

Customer service is currently set by each operator, with some offering multiple methods of contact including telephone, email, and through social media. Others whilst having an online presence, do not use this for customer service purposes. There are also some operators offering telephone based enquiries only. Complaints handling procedures are provided individually by the separate operating companies. Working through our EP Forum, we are committed to delivering a Passenger Charter covering North Yorkshire during 2024-2025.

Stakeholder engagement and views of passengers

‘Let's talk’ was launched as the biggest countywide conversation that North Yorkshire has seen about issues that matter to all residents in North Yorkshire. ‘Let's Talk Transport’ took place in 2023 to inform the development of a new Local Transport Plan and sought views on how individuals travel in North Yorkshire and the issues they face. With over 5,000 responses it provides a robust assessment of issues affecting people today in North Yorkshire.

The engagement clearly showed that availability and reliability of access to transport, and in particular public transport, is a significant area of concern and dissatisfaction, with a large number of comments relating to bus travel. When asked about what elements were always or often a concern, 77% said availability and reliability of travel, and 66% said affordability of travel. Further, when asked about the effectiveness of measures to improve transport, the highest polling response was measured to increase the use of public transport, at 62%.

Other factors affecting bus services

When the Bus Service Improvement Plan was first written and published in 2021, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown restrictions was evident in patronage numbers. Graph 1 below shows patronage for 2022/3 & 2023/4 against the pre-Covid baseline; Graph 2 shows the new baseline for this revised Bus Service Improvement Plan.

Bus services in North Yorkshire have recovered well, with fare paying passenger numbers recovering most strongly, partly due to the £2 fare cap introduced from January 2023. This simplicity and low cost for fares is important for bus users and the 2024/5 delivery plan and 2025/30 forward plan both build on this with the introduction of a discounted fare cap for young people. Graph 3 below shows patronage change following the introduction of the £2 fare cap.

Graph 1: North Yorkshire Bus Patronage trends 2022/23-2023/24 against pre-Covid baseline

Graph 2: North Yorkshire Bus Patronage updated baseline 2023/24

Graph 3: North Yorkshire Bus Patronage following introduction of £2 fare cap

Improvements Programme to 2024-2025

Since the original Bus Service Improvement Plan was published in 2021 bus services have been under significant pressure both locally and nationally following the Covid-19 pandemic. Passenger numbers have taken time to recover and although fare paying passengers have largely returned to pre-pandemic levels this figure remains much lower for concessionary pass users at around 70%. This has particularly affected rural routes where older passengers represented a greater proportion of users.

There has also been a significant increase in operating costs (vehicle procurement, maintenance, insurance, staffing, property rental and fuel) along with national difficulties with recruiting bus drivers, engineering staff and sourcing spare parts.

Working closely with our bus operators, the council has provided significant additional funding to support previously commercial bus routes that would otherwise already have been withdrawn due to fewer passengers travelling and rising costs. Reimbursement for concessionary travel and our supported bus services was maintained at pre-pandemic levels from 2020 to 2023, despite the drop in travel. Through this and accessing government grant funding of around £1.4million per year we have been able to stabilise our bus network and are now looking to build on this platform and deliver improvements from 2024 onwards.

On 23 October 2023, the Government announced a further £150million of funding for buses called ‘Network North: Phase 3 Bus Service Improvement Plan funding’ (BSIP3) and North Yorkshire have received an allocation of £3.5million for 2024/25. BSIP3 is revenue funding and is currently for one year only (2024/25) and will be focused on schemes that can be delivered in a relatively short timescale.

This funding will be used to address some of the local priorities raised through our recent Let's Talk Transport public engagement, focussing on some key areas of delivery from our Bus Service Improvement Plan

• strengthening bus routes through higher frequency and improvements to evening and weekend services. This will represent a significant step-change towards a ‘7-day’ bus network
   
• making bus travel more affordable for young people by introducing a £1 fare cap for a single journey for those under 19 years old
   
• improving information and customer experience through improved marketing and promotion as well as providing additional customer service support at very busy bus stations
   
• providing additional journeys for rural communities
   
• supporting seasonal services to our tourist and leisure destinations, including the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks
   
• delivery of general maintenance improvements to bus service infrastructure such as bus stops and signage

These improvements are designed to increase ridership and make services financially sustainable. It is important to note that these improvements will be on a trial basis for a period of one year and need to be utilised by the public during this period with the aim of them becoming commercially viable, otherwise without further grant support from DfT, it is likely that they will be withdrawn at the end of the funding period.

A table showing funding for local bus services in 2024/25 is shown at table 1 above and a list of our BSIP3 funded enhancements, which have been approved by our Enhanced Partnership, is included as Appendix C.

In addition to the BSIP3 funded schemes there are other new projects that will be delivered in 2024-2025:

• building on NY commitment to improve customer outcome, we will develop a Passenger Charter to drive improvements and set out what passengers can expect from local transport authorities and bus operators across North Yorkshire. We will work with stakeholders through our Enhanced Partnership Forum and draw on best practise from around the country. The charter will be developed alongside our Enhanced Partnership and City of York to ensure a consistent standard is set across the new combined authority
   
• an audit of bus stops, bus stations and other infrastructure. There are over 4000 bus stops and interchanges across the county, many in remote rural areas. These are owned or maintained by a number of different bodies including parish and town councils, national parks, developers and community groups, as well as North Yorkshire Council. We want to improve public transport accessibility across North Yorkshire and this audit of existing infrastructure will support capital funding bids to deliver improvements
   
• driver recruitment remains a persistent challenge for the authority, with capacity issues fluctuating across different areas and operators. While most local operators currently report being fully staffed, recruiting new drivers remains a significant challenge. This situation can change rapidly, and we are planning to collaborate with the DfT and local operators to develop a forward plan for the next two years, aiming to enhance market stability
   
• supporting our aim to provide simpler, integrated ticketing we will be launching a multi operator “Scenic Explorer” ticket accepted on services to and around the east coast of the county. This will be supported by a promotional campaign encouraging travel by bus to our many beautiful tourist destinations in the area

Ambitions and proposals for 2025-2030 and beyond

This section details the actions to realise the Aims and Objectives, delivering ambitious proposals that address challenges identified in consultation responses and interpretation and within the recommended structure (below). Going forward we will be working closely with the City of York through the newly established Mayoral Combined Authority and publishing a joint MCA wide Bus Service Improvement Plan from 2025 onwards.

• improvements to fares and ticketing
• bus network planning and improvements to bus services: service level and network coverage
• bus network planning and improvements to bus services: 7-day access
• accessibility, inclusiveness, personal safety and security
• bus network planning and improvements to bus services: Enhanced Rural Community offer
• improvements to the bus passenger experience:
  
  a) improved bus stops, bus stations and interchanges
  b) improved bus information and network identity
  c) implementing the Bus Passenger Charter
   
• support business: implement a progressive partnership with business
• longer term transformation of the network: A Joint Bus Service Improvement Plan for York and North Yorkshire

The commitments, actions and proposed interventions (detailed below) have been developed in collaboration with North Yorkshire’s bus operators through a Bus Service Improvement Plan working group. They have been developed in response to the problems and opportunities described in the previous section. They are set out with a focus on deliverability where improvement is achieved and is seen as bringing change.

In summary, the measures include:

Forward Plan 2025 to 2030; this plan builds on the delivery of the 2024/25 investment and bus service improvement and sets out the direction of future accessibility and connectivity for North Yorkshire.

1. Low and Simple Fares: following the National £2 fare cap and the introduction of a £1 fare cap for under 19-year-olds in our 2024/25 plan, the North Yorkshire and York ambition is to extend the £1 (2024 prices) fare cap to young adults and continue this offer alongside the national £2 (2024 prices) fare cap. This will encourage young people to use public transport and delay their acquisition of a private car.
    
2. Strengthen core Daytime Weekday Services: the 2024/25 enhancement plan will see improvements in frequency on some key commercial routes and it is intended to develop this further, based on how passengers respond to the 2024 offer.
    
3. Introduce Weekend Services for a 7-Day Accessible North Yorkshire: Building on the strength of core commercial bus services and the enhancements begun in the 2024/25 plan, our ambition is to ensure all commercial routes offer services across the whole week with Saturday and Sunday services at suitable frequency levels. This investment will create the accessible 7-day network that is needed to support businesses and communities.
    
4. Accessibility, inclusiveness, personal safety and security: Initiate a fresh dialogue with disability action groups, ensuring their representation in our Enhanced Partnership. As part of this, we will renew our commitment to accessibility by actively engaging with these action groups, seeking to better understand their needs so we can champion accessibility on transport across the county.
    
5. Supporting future rounds of ZEBRA zero emission bus funding including for town services and community transport.
    
6. Define a Rural Community Offer: North Yorkshire is predominantly a rural county with several sparse communities across our 8,000m2 geography. In 2021 to 2023 we trialled a pilot Digital Demand Responsive Transport (DDRT) service. This pilot was invaluable in understanding the challenges and opportunities in delivering a flexible transport service for rural communities. It is intended to use the lessons learnt to design a DDRT operation in the Esk Valley that will integrate the Community Rail service with local bus, school and social care transport to better connect communities. Consideration will be given to the appropriate delivery model which could include local bus, taxi, community transport or a combination of these.
    
7. Review Highway and Traffic Environment on Identified Key Corridors: Implementing measures to i) improve journey time consistency and ii) reduce overall bus journey times. This will focus on ‘Gold Standard’ corridors where bus operators invest in modern low or zero carbon accessible vehicles, high frequencies and active customer first care. Initially review and enhancement work will take place along the Service 36 corridor in Harrogate, the Service 1 Knaresborough – Harrogate corridor and the Harrogate Service 2 and 3 networks.
   
   Additional Gold Standard routes will be identified across the sub region in the coastal Scarborough area and smaller urban towns for example, Whitby, Selby and Skipton where enhancements will be identified and introduced. Where appropriate, we will introduce targeted and proportionate bus priority measures at identified congestion hotspot which will be identified through the placed based approach. In the 2025 – 30 improvement period we will consider corridor enhancement reviews in short local sections where congestion and highway factors impact journey time consistency.
    
8. Invest in the Customer: with a commitment to high quality, accessible and punctual networks with excellent service standards, our ambition is to transform the way customers perceive bus travel and their experience in using it. Building on the introduction of a passenger charter for North Yorkshire introduced in the 2024-2025 plan, we will ensure the network is accessible, in the built environment, at bus stops, bus stations and the buses people use, and that it offers excellent customer service.
   
   Following the plan to audit all our bus stops and bus stations in 2024/25 we will implement a program of enhancement where this is needed to ensure bus stops and stations are safe, accessible and attractive. We will implement strong marketing and promotion offers identified through the Enhanced Partnership and Forum, such as the east coast “Scenic Explorer” promotion, designed to simplify the convenience and use of buses for visitors and tourists across York and North Yorkshire, will be introduced.
    
9. Support Businesses and the Economy: Our Vision states - An efficient and accessible bus network that enables businesses to flourish - this is a central part of the vision and will enable businesses to access customers and staff they need. Initially we will establish a role for business to join the enhanced partnership forum to contribute their understanding and perspective on local bus transport and identify initiatives that will be included in the pipeline for bus service improvements where these are suitable.
    
10. The establishment of the first rural Mayoral Combined Authority and the first elected Mayor for York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority presents a unique opportunity for York and North Yorkshire. We welcome this opportunity and will work with the Mayor’s office to draft a strong joint Bus Service Improvement Plan and achieve the enhancements that will best serve the sub region.

Esk Valley DDRT

The following is an outline of a possible proposal for further investigation and could involve the introduction of a pilot DDRT operation in the Esk Valley.

DDRT operates using vehicles that are scheduled in near real time, offering people access to transport services where conventional local bus services are not economic to operate either commercially or as a tendered service. People access the service through an app on their smart phone and enter a request which is then scheduled into the best vehicle automatically by the app using pre-configured parameters in the app’s algorithms.

Esk Valley concept:

The Esk Valley project would take learning from similar schemes across the country such as Lincolnshire Call Connect, which successfully serves Lincolnshire, East Rutland, and Peterborough. For the Esk Valley it would integrate with the community rail service, connecting with rail journeys and providing through ticketing and guaranteed connection; it would also link with conventional bus services operating into and around Whitby, again offering through ticketing and guaranteed connections.

The operation would use a mix of vehicles, including accessible electric MPV’s and larger seated accessible minibuses, with the use of MPVs reducing both capital and operating costs. Consideration would be given to selecting an appropriate delivery model, which may include local bus, taxi, community transport or a combination of these. The project would also include electric vehicle charging infrastructure at Whitby and Lealholm.

The proposal could offer a unique opportunity to establish a bespoke transport solution in a rural area where settlements are scattered, and existing transport is infrequent or not available. We could launch this scheme as a 5-year pilot, allowing sufficient time for modal shift to become established. Integrating with the community rail service and existing school transport provision would enable an efficient utilisation of the DDRT vehicle by feeding into and supporting the rail service. It will enable settlements that are remote from the stations on the line to access the rail service and may enable the train to ‘skip stop’ some locations thereby reducing rail journey times and creating capacity for additional rail journeys. The Esk Valley Rail service is currently subject to an enhancement project where funding may be available to contribute to project outcomes.

Mobility as a service pilot

As part of the forward-looking proposal from 2025 onwards, North Yorkshire Council will aim to develop a business case for a Mobility as a Service scheme which would initially be a five-year pilot focussed around the Yorkshire Dales. With the aim to integrate multiple transport and travel options including; community transport, bus, rail and active travel into a single technology platform, providing journey planning capabilities, easy access to travel information, in-app ticketing, and a hassle-free payment system.

This initiative would prioritise first and last mile connectivity, seamlessly linking various transportation options. North Yorkshire Council would look at the successful GO-HI project in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland as an example and model for a multi-modal travel planning tool, which grants users instant access to a growing network of local providers, thereby promoting a shift toward more sustainable transportation.

We must also consider the unique rural context of this scheme and how it can be adapted for a county of our size. For this we plan to look towards Kent County Council who are currently in the development stages of implementing a similar scheme. Their project will also operate in a pilot area, providing a working example for North Yorkshire Council to draw feedback from.

Mobility hubs

Developing mobility hubs across the county could connect people by integrating public transport and active travel. They enhance multi-modal trips by allowing seamless transitions between different transportation modes. We would initially be looking to develop mobility hubs in key locations across the county such as Ripon, Richmond and Malton. These hubs prioritise safety, improve accessibility, and encourage a modal shift away from the private car. We will look to develop mobility hubs in existing community spaces, such as bus stations, or establish them through partnerships with local businesses. With the goal to provide a secure and sheltered waiting area, along with access to other services.

Fares that are lower and simpler

Fares and ticketing information go hand-in-hand with journey planning information and allows passengers to plan their journey in advance, as journey choices may be influenced by the cost and availability of suitable tickets. Users need to be presented with prices and ticket options at the point of planning their journey.

In January 2023 Government introduced a national £2 fare cap and this is extended to continue to December 2024. The initiative is centrally contracted and funded by Government and applies across the whole of England. This has been hugely successful, achieving an increase in passengers and offering a simple clear fare for passengers. This provides a value offer that the forward plan can build on.

• through the North Yorkshire Enhanced Partnership, we will work with operators to review and rationalise their fares and ticket ranges to reduce the number of different tickets on offer. We will also work alongside City of York to align our ticketing initiatives, making travel simpler across the combined authority. In particular, we will seek to agree a minimum set of 'Must Have' tickets that will be expected to be available
   
• deliver lower fares for younger people – retain under-19 qualifying age across the whole of North Yorkshire on all bus services. Offer a 50% discount fare to passengers in this age group
   
• deliver single journey fare capping – implement the national £2 (@ 2024 prices) fare cap and ensure this is sustainable to become an established part of the bus offer in the area
   
• deliver day fare capping - Operators have committed to provide a daily fare cap once the technology and back-office function support is available. We will work with our operators on how we can deliver this sustainably
   
• deliver promotion and fare incentives - To encourage increased patronage on services, we will work jointly with operators to explore and implement fare initiatives to attract and retain passengers, particularly in off-peak periods and from new markets

Introduced in the 2024/25 improvement plan a young person’s offer which reflected the national £2 fare cap was introduced providing a £1 single fare cap for under 19-year-olds. For the 2025-30 program this will be continued.

Seamless, integrated local ticketing between operators and across all types of transport

We will support operators in working together to develop multi operator ticketing, including combined single trip journeys. We will expand existing collaborations with local business and tourist attractions to include all bus operators and further collaboration with industry to develop new business-to-business ticket offers for employers, attractions and major businesses. Through our Bus Service Improvement Plan we will:

• develop a ticketing working group in North Yorkshire with operators. This group will:
   
  • promote existing multi operator ticketing products
  • work with operators to fill identified gaps
  • explore new areas of opportunity for joint ticketing initiatives on common sections of routes or through routes (subject to CMA compliance and bilateral agreements)
     
• mandate operators on common sections of route to accept all operators’ valid return and day tickets
   
• use the ticketing working group to explore innovative ticketing products focusing on areas such as tourism
   
• use the ticketing group to explore multi operator ticking products and opportunities, relevant to the geography of North Yorkshire, and with reference to needs. The aim is to ensure the product is both affordable and attractive

Service patterns that are integrated with other modes

All modes of transport contribute to the local economy and peoples’ enjoyment of their community. Rail is important to North Yorkshire and North Yorkshire Council will continue to commit resource and work with the rail industry to deliver improvements.

Enabling rail travel’s integration with other modes in North Yorkshire is as much about the infrastructure as services and ticketing. In this respect, we are currently developing proposals for improved access to stations at Skipton, Seamer, Selby, Thirsk and Malton. These are being developed with local rail operators and will be submitted to Government for funding.

The council has also developed a series of Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) for Harrogate, Selby, Scarborough, Skipton and Northallerton. The aim of the LCWIPs is to identify the main cycle and walking improvements in a town to enable the council to bid for government funding and/or to secure funding contributions from developers. The LCWIPs broadly align to the key commercial bus markets and corridors in the county.

Through our Bus Service Improvement Plan we deliver cycling facilities at identified locations along the key corridors. These will include bike racks and bike storage infrastructure at key locations such as bus stations to encourage integrated travel. We will, where possible, link measures identified in the respective LCWIPs with the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

Consider new, and enhance existing, park and ride operations where these are required and can be operated sustainably. Explore the implementation of Electric Vehicle Hubs to provide convenient charging points for both park and ride users and the public to encourage usage. We will also assess the opportunity to develop our park and ride operations into multi-modal mobility hubs to cater to various modes of transportation, encouraging the shift to sustainable, accessible transport.

The local bus network is presented as a single system that works together with clear passenger information:

North Yorkshire has a number of strong local bus brands across its different operators, and this is something that will be encouraged across the wider bus network (including support infrastructure such as bus stops). A branded stop is a simple basic mechanism for raising awareness amongst non-bus users, through raising awareness of the availability of bus services and giving confidence to both bus users and non-bus users in using the service. Through the North Yorkshire Enhanced Partnership, we will agree which local brands should be adopted, taking account of the distinct local bus markets in North Yorkshire. In order to show unified local identities across all parts of the bus system, we will work with operators to expand branding across all information mediums (including on bus stops, in printed timetables, at bus stations and across ticket ranges).

Through the development of the Bus Service Improvement Plan, North Yorkshire Council has worked closely with the operators to begin developing a draft information strategy. A final copy of the information strategy, once available, will be included in an updated version of the Bus Service Improvement Plan. Through our Bus Service Improvement Plan we will:

• deliver a new website which will include information on all services operating in North Yorkshire and City of York, including cross boundary services. The website will contain information on timetables, fares and service updates
   
• deliver e-Ink digital signs at bus stops along identified key corridors. These displays will provide a modern approach to traditional roadside bus information together with both fares and real time information
   
• for other bus stops, deliver a programme of timetable display upgrades to enable presentation of clear and easy to understand information
   
• develop a standard approach for producing, updating and maintaining publicity. This will include design standards and clarity on responsibilities for both operators and North Yorkshire Council
   
• in partnership with our key operators, develop a marketing strategy covering the whole of North Yorkshire to promote the bus network and encourage modal shift. This will consider all marketing formats, a programme of marketing activity (refreshed regularly) including fares promotion, development of a local brand and key marketing opportunities to attract new users to our bus network. We will ensure tourism is considered as part of the marketing strategy and consider how we can promote the area to those outside of North Yorkshire

Modern buses and decarbonisation

We want bus services across North Yorkshire to be zero emission, using modern, comfortable and high specification vehicles. In 2021, the council commissioned a feasibility study into the deployment of Zero Emission Buses (ZEB) developing a roadmap for fleet decarbonisation across the county.

Bus operator engagement took place to understand the fleet investment plans, technical and operational constraints and current attitudes to ZEB deployment among North Yorkshire’s bus operators. The three largest operators (Arriva, East Yorkshire, and Transdev) were consulted, as well as three smaller operators and North Yorkshire Council’s fleet operations team.

Following the successful Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) electric bus project in Harrogate we will explore opportunities for further funding; engaging bus operators to seek their support for future applications.

Through our Bus Service Improvement Plan we will:

• support bus operators in identifying further opportunities for funding and accelerated fleet decarbonisation, including exploring alternative fleet procurement and ownership models
   
• we will work with our neighbouring authorities in City of York and Tees Valley to achieve zero emission operation on cross-boundary services operated from depots outside of North Yorkshire, including the potential for hydrogen powered bus operation on some longer
  interurban routes
   
• commit to decarbonisation of the council’s own in-house fleet of community and demand responsive transport minibuses (as and when suitable models and funding opportunities become available) that support this segment of the public service vehicle market

Bus services that are safe and perceived to be safe by all

We want buses in North Yorkshire to be clean, comfortable and reliable, offering a safe environment accessible to all.

Following the audit of bus stops taking place in 2024 we will seek funding to deliver improvements to bus stops and waiting areas including accessible boarding, bus shelter upgrades, improved seating and waiting areas and lighting. These improvements will focus on the key corridors initially before rolling the improvements out across the rest of the county.

A common standard for driver training to promote customer service with enhanced diversity and equalities appreciation ensuring a consistent offer across the county regardless of operator.

Targets, performance monitoring and reporting

North Yorkshire Council worked closely with bus operators to agree a series of ambitious targets for improvements in the 2021 Bus Service Improvement Plan. The targets focused on; overall bus passenger offer customer satisfaction, passenger growth, punctuality improvements and fleet decarbonisation. We have updated these targets to reflect the progress made since 2021, providing an accurate forecast.

These targets will be used to measure progress towards achieving the Bus Service Improvement Plan’s aims and objectives and will form part of the future annual reviews and updates to the North Yorkshire Bus Service Improvement Plan.

Targets

Target 1: Increase overall customer satisfaction on services in North Yorkshire

Target 2: Increase passenger numbers countywide 3% by 2030

Target 3: Improve punctuality in the three main urban centres of Harrogate, Selby and Scarborough

Target 4: Maintain and improve the current >95% reliability across all services in North Yorkshire.

Target 5: 25% fleet zero emissions by 2030 and 60% by 2035.

Target 1

Customer Satisfaction Target

We are working with Transport Focus as part of their “Your Bus Journey” project to assess customer satisfaction in North Yorkshire and benchmark experiences here with other parts of the country. This approach will provide us with more in-depth targeted analysis. This project started in April 2024 and will be used to understand how customers perceive bus travel now and establish new performance targets. North Yorkshire Council will closely monitor trends in local performance, comparing them with other authorities. Bus operators will continue to conduct their own surveys, and this valuable information will also be monitored when available. As part of our developing Passenger Charter, we will use the data received to drive improvements across the county.

Target 2

Passenger Growth Target (Table 3)

Year	Growth from baseline County wide	Growth from baseline in Harrogate	Growth from baseline in Scarborough	Growth from baseline in Selby
2023-24 baseline	9,933,826	5,180,325	3,038,660	785,067
2030 (3%)	10,281,509	5,361,636	3,145,013	812,545
2035 (1.5%)	10,435,732	5,442,060	3,192,188	824,733

We have updated the baseline to 2023-24 as shown in Table 3 above and Graph 2, this will allow more accurate targets for patronage growth to be set. The medium-term trend for bus usage in North Yorkshire remains one of reducing patronage over the last decade, from a high of 17.3m in 2011-12, usage dropped by 32% to a low of 11.7m in 2017-18 from where patronage has stabilised and is recovering.

Target 3

Punctuality Improvement Target (Table 4)

Year	% of buses on time in Harrogate	% of buses on time in Scarborough	% of buses on time in Selby
2023	77%	81%	80%
2024	81%	84%	81%
2030 (3%)	84%	86%	84%
2035 (1.5%)	85%	88%	85%

Punctuality is monitored in the urban areas of North Yorkshire where bus service provision is stronger and where factors affecting punctuality, including higher traffic volumes, reduced and restricted road space, greater number of junctions are more pronounced.

This approach will be taken when monitoring punctuality targets in the Bus Service Improvement Plan. Network compliance will be measured using approved methodology in the Harrogate, Scarborough and Selby areas.

It is acknowledged that punctuality performance in urban centres can carry over into longer interurban services and impact neighbouring authorities where these services are cross boundary. North Yorkshire Council will continue to work with neighbouring authorities to mitigate any negative impacts.

Target 4

Reliability Targets (Table 5)

Financial year	County wide reliability
2024	>95%
2030 (2%)	>97%
2035 (1%)	>98%

Target 5

Local Bus Emission Targets (Table 6)

Financial year	% Local bus fleet operated across North Yorkshire Lower than IV standard	% Local bus fleet operated across North Yorkshire Euro IV standard	% Local bus fleet operated across North Yorkshire Euro V standard	% Local bus fleet operated across North Yorkshire Euro VI standard or better	% Local bus fleet operated across North Yorkshire Zero emissions
2021	12%	0%	32%	52%	2%
2024	9%	13%	29%	46%	4%
2030	0%	0%	15%	60%	25%
2035	0%	0%	0%	40%	60%

The fleet emission data has been provided by the operators based on the fleet they are currently operating. North Yorkshire Council is committed to carbon reduction and aims to become carbon neutral by 2030 and in conjunction with a Mayoral Combined Authority to become carbon negative by 2040. It is encouraging to see the steps that operators have taken to move to electric bus operations to date, and the combined ambition to significantly decarbonise bus operations over the next 10 years. In partnership with the Harrogate Bus Company, North Yorkshire Council are in the final stages of delivering the ZEBRA scheme. This will see 39 new electric vehicles operating out of their Harrogate depot. Marking a significant step towards our decarbonisation targets.

Journey time target

Journey time targets will be developed in line with specific schemes, it is difficult to set journey time targets at this stage until the network studies and interventions have been agreed. As part of the delivery of specific schemes which will be identified through the Enhanced Partnership Plan journey time targets will be set accordingly.

Reporting

Following DfT guidance, performance against the Bus Service Improvement Plan targets will be updated on an annual basis. The Bus Service Improvement Plan targets will be published on this page.

We understand that Bus Service Improvement Plans are designed to be living documents. As such they can be altered and re-published in partnership with our local bus operators. In any event, as a partnership we will review and where necessary revise this document on an annual basis to ensure that it remains relevant and working as intended or we will amend it to ensure that there is greater success for the following period. Where the document has been reviewed and revised, the revisions as an updated Bus Service Improvement Plan document will be resubmitted to the DfT.