Agenda item

This report covers:

•        Parking: covering public, private and Park & Ride provision, income received, usage, impact on closing Castle Car Park on the wider estate, wider aims e.g. shifting to less polluting vehicles, approach taken for busy shopping areas outside of the city-centre (e.g. Haxby, Acomb Front St), residents’ parking, and disabled parking; and

•        Park and ride retender: Early input into what the Council can ask for.

The Committee considered the report, and the chair noted that they would focus primarily on park and ride as this was mainly covered within the report. The committee acknowledged that developing a parking strategy for the city was a complex undertaking but welcomed the Council exploring this further to support the Council’s transport strategies and improve parking provision across the city.

Officers outlined that the Council would be negotiating a new contract for York’s park and ride buses. They confirmed that there were opportunities to explore expanding the use of the park and ride sites, as well as questions relating to how park and ride fits alongside the Mayoral Combined Authority. It was confirmed that the park and ride was ran as cost neutral to the Council and options for the new contract should consider how the Council balances potential cost against the opportunities for new and improved services.

It was confirmed that the combined authority was now the local transport authority, however, the park and ride officers confirmed was not the same as regular bus services and therefore the Council could maintain control rather than it being transferred to the combined authority. It was noted that the combined authority would likely still require several years before it could take on the park and ride facilities regardless of any Council decision. Members discussed the prospect of maintaining control of the park and ride and noted that the Council could seek a shorter contract to allow for the combined authority to develop its transport functions.

Members discussed the possible future use of park and ride facilities. Officers noted that the Council had £4 million of Bus service improvement plan funding which could support transforming park and ride sites into transport hubs with more bus stops on site, additional overnight parking, car clubs, more cycle parking, and more electric vehicle charging. The Committee also discussed what else could be included in the tender process. It was noted that the Council could raise wheelchair access on York’s park and ride buses as part of the tender process.  

The Committee noted that the York Central Access Strategy included plans for the park and ride route from the Rawcliffe Park and Ride. This it was noted would link York Central to the railway station and create access to the York Central economic area.

Members discussed the tender process for the new contract and enquired as to whether there was more than one viable bidder to operate park and ride. Officers noted that there were challenges to new bidders as the park and ride would require a substantial bus depo to operate from. Members enquired as to whether the park and ride could be broken up into multiple contracts. It was confirmed that this was possible but that it would create more complexity in contract management and could lose the advantages in the economies of scale of running the whole service.

Resolved:

                      i.         To recommend that the Council pursues a short-term tender for the park and ride with requirements for more wheelchair spaces, longer operating hours, and weekend parking.

                     ii.         To ask that the Executive Member for Transport seek the Mayoral Combined Authority to outline its plans for bus travel in York and North Yorkshire, including what role York’s park and ride could play in this.

                    iii.        To request that the Council review its intermediate stops policy on park and ride services.

                   iv.        To request that the Executive explore greater commercial use of park and ride land.

Reason: To ensure the Council’s tender process for the Council’s park and ride services delivers improved services for the city.