Residents and visitors in Ripon are to benefit from easier travel with new and improved bus services.
The bus network in the North Yorkshire city is being boosted to help encourage sustainable travel following a series of new retail and housing developments.
From Monday, 17 April, the current Ripon services – RS1 Lark Lane, RS2 Lead Lane and RS3 Gallows Lane – will increase in frequency and see routes extended, as well as operating on Saturdays. A new route, numbered RS4, will serve North Bridge.
The current services run between 9.25am and 3.30pm Monday to Friday, and for some time Ripon City Council and the newly formed North Yorkshire Council have been pushing for expansion.
The improvements have been made possible due to funding from developers including CDP Marshall at St Michael’s Park and by Harron Homes at Doublegates and Bishops Glade. Ripon City Council is also contributing, alongside the existing provision made by North Yorkshire Council.
Executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said: “We are pleased to support these much-needed improvements to public transport in Ripon. The services will be of benefit to all, particularly residents of the new housing developments.
“We have been working closely with the city council, developers and partners to improve the level of service. We want more residents in Ripon, and across North Yorkshire, to be able to choose public transport to get around sustainably.”
RS1 has a new timetable and route via Bishopton Lane, Ash Bank Road and Lark Lane which extends via the bus station to St Michaels Park for M&S Food Store. It will depart hourly from 7.15am to 6.15pm with additional journeys between the bus station and St Michael’s Park twice hourly.
RS2 and RS3 have a new timetable with an earlier bus at 7.40am and a later bus at 5.35pm Monday to Friday. The daytime service has new times and will run Monday to Saturday.
RS4 is a new route from the bus station to North Bridge via North Street returning via Magdalen’s Road. There are three journeys per day Monday to Saturday.
Ripon City Council has been working on the plans for five years. Cllr Peter Horton, who chairs the transport group, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the new unitary council and are extremely grateful for the assistance of officers in the passenger transport team.”
Store manager at M&S Ripon, Richard Johnston, said: “This is brilliant news and helps our store become even closer to our community. It means customers further out will be able to enjoy our products and it’s also a great resource for our store colleagues.”
The services will be run with minibuses from Dales and District Travel and North Yorkshire Council. The timetables will be live from Monday next week (17 April).