Agenda item

The Executive Member has agreed to take this report as an urgent item as bus services to the Fulford Broadway and Naburn areas of York would otherwise be without a Sunday daytime bus service following the withdrawal of existing facilities.

RESOLVED:             That the Executive Member for City Strategy agrees:

i)To request Officers to seek an emergency short term tender to provide a replacement bus service to Fulford Broadway and Naburn.

ii)            That a new, Sundays only, bus route linking Naburn Village with York City Centre via Fulford Broadway being incorporated in the package of routes about to be offered for tender, for inception from 28 August 2011.

iii)          To a review of funding to support the Sunday evening service on route 10 to offset the additional costs to the Council in obtaining a replacement for routes 42 and 415, but requests officers to ensure that the service is sustained at least until the August tendering process has been completed.

iv)To request officers, during the review period for the number 10 evening bus service, to work with the operators, Parish Councils and local Ward members to try and increase the use of the number 10 service with the aim of it being registered as a commercial service.

v)            Whilst the loss of the early morning and evening weekday journeys to Fulford Broadway and Naburn are regrettable, the low level of usage demonstrated makes it uneconomic for the Council to seek replacement facilities.

REASON:                  The Council has obtained from Arriva detailed loadings and revenue figures in respect of the affected journeys and undertaken its own surveys since being informed of the changes. The data suggests that whilst the usage does not justify the provision of individual bus services to each area, a single route serving both would meet the Council’s criteria for revenue support.

The Executive Member confirmed that he had agreed to take this report as an urgent item as bus services to the Fulford Broadway and Naburn areas of York would otherwise have been without a Sunday daytime bus service following withdrawal of existing facilities.

Officers reported that confirmation had now been received that funding for the evening and Sunday journeys on route 42 would be withdrawn after operation on 10 April 2011. From the same date, Arriva had registered changes to commercial route 415, that would divert buses away from Fulford Broadway in the mid-evening and on Sundays.

The Executive Member had expressed concern at the withdrawal of services and had requested officers to examine ways of sustaining the public transport link. It was proposed initially to secure a subsidised link to Naburn via Broadway and Heslington Road providing 5 journeys each Sunday. It had been found possible in the longer term, to incorporate into the forthcoming tender round an extension of this route to provide limited Sunday service to the Westfield area, which would meet the Council’s aim of providing a similar level of Sunday bus provision to all areas.

The Executive Member expressed concern at the proposal to discontinue providing financial support to run the Sunday evening No 10 service to Stamford Bridge and Poppleton unless every avenue had been explored to bring usage up to a level where it could continue without a Council subsidy.

Consideration was then given to the following options:

A.     Agree to the Council seeking an emergency tender for a short-term replacement service between York and Naburn whilst adding the proposed Westfield – Naburn route to the upcoming procurement process and withdrawing funding for the Sunday evening operation on route 10.

B.     Take no further action beyond the approval given in December 2010, accepting the withdrawal of evening and Sunday bus services to Fulford Broadway and Naburn.

RESOLVED:             That the Executive Member for City Strategy agrees:

i)To request Officers to seek an emergency short term tender to provide a replacement bus service to Fulford Broadway and Naburn. ^1.

ii)            That a new, Sundays only, bus route linking Naburn Village with York City Centre via Fulford Broadway being incorporated in the package of routes about to be offered for tender, for inception from 28 August 2011. ^2.

iii)          To a review of funding to support the Sunday evening service on route 10 to offset the additional costs to the Council in obtaining a replacement for routes 42 and 415, but requests officers to ensure that the service is sustained at least until the August tendering process has been completed. ^3.

iv)To request officers, during the review period for the number 10 evening bus service, to work with the operators, Parish Councils and local Ward members to try and increase the use of the number 10 service with the aim of it being registered as a commercial service.  ^4.

v)            Whilst the loss of the early morning and evening weekday journeys to Fulford Broadway and Naburn are regrettable, the low level of usage demonstrated makes it uneconomic for the Council to seek replacement facilities.

REASON:                  The Council has obtained from Arriva detailed loadings and revenue figures in respect of the affected journeys and undertaken its own surveys since being informed of the changes. The data suggests that whilst the usage does not justify the provision of individual bus services to each area, a single route serving both would meet the Council’s criteria for revenue support.