York and North Yorkshire Approve £3.5 Million Bus Study
Mayor David Skaith secured £3.5 million to assess a bus franchising model to increase public control over regional transport and reinvest profits into rural services.
The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority has approved up to £3.5 million to conduct a formal assessment of a proposed bus franchising scheme. David Skaith, the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, initiated the move to increase public control over routes, fares, and service standards. He argues that the current system is broken and that franchising would allow profits from successful routes to be reinvested into less commercially viable services rather than going to private shareholders.
The proposal faced opposition from North Yorkshire Council leaders, including Councillor Carl Les and Councillor Mark Crane. They warned that the model may be financially unsustainable in rural areas, citing past experiences of subsidizing "empty buses" and suggesting that franchising could lead to financial losses across the board.
The formal assessment process is expected to take at least 18 months, with a final decision on implementation not anticipated until 2028. The authority will incorporate findings from a Department for Transport-funded Rural Bus Franchising Pilot Study expected in late October to evaluate potential benefits for passengers and businesses. This initiative follows a £564,000 pilot program that highlighted reliability issues and infrequent services in coastal and rural communities.
