Bus services facing ‘cliff edge’ transport boss warns

Bus services across England’s largest county are facing “a cliff edge” with the impending end of the Government’s £2 fare cap, leaving passengers with a potential 600 per-cent rise in fares on some routes, a transport boss has warned.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for transport, Councillor Keane Duncan, issued the stark warning at a full meeting of the authority, saying the subsidy scheme introduced in January 2023 had proven to be “critical support” for the county’s routes, with passenger levels rising by 11 per cent last year.

The alert follows recently-elected York and North Yorkshire mayor David Skaith pledging to create “a transport system that works for all” in a region which has seen among the country’s most severe cuts in bus services since austerity.

The temporary initiative, which is due to end on December 31, is estimated to have cost the Government about £600 million over the two-year period.

While critics of the scheme say price caps can harm competition, weaken the link between costs, fares, and value, stifle innovation, reduce commercial returns and financial sustainability and inhibit effective marketing, others say it has proven to be a lifeline for services outside urban areas, many of which had been in peril.

Transport bosses say the fare cap has been “a significant factor” in Yorkshire Coastliner’s decision not to withdraw its 840 Leeds to Whitby route, once voted the most scenic in the UK.

Yorkshire Dales transport campaigner Ruth Annison said the £2 fare cap had been a boon for the economy and carbon-cutting efforts in an area covered by infrequent services.

She said: “People need to be able to move around without cars, especially in the national park.”

Helen Gundry, director of North Yorkshire bus operator Moorsbus, said the fare cap had “encouraged people to think bus travel is affordable”.

She said: “For rural areas we serve it makes a massive difference for weekday commercial services as they are so expensive otherwise.”

Calling for answers over an exit strategy from the £2 fare cap, Coun Duncan said while the Labour Government had signalled its intent to legislate with a Better Buses bill, there had been “a deafening silence” about the subsidy.

He added: “I think this authority, operators and passengers in the county would find it very helpful to have that clarity from the mayor about his intentions.

“The £2 fare cap has been a lifeline for services teetering on the edge of survival. There is now a real fear of a cliff edge if the scheme ends in December.

“Some routes in our county could see a 600 per cent increase in the fare. Services here could return to financial difficulty and once again be in the perilous financial situation we have worked so hard to overcome.”

Coun Duncan said it had proven to be “pretty impossible to get any indication about the mayor’s plans or even have a conversation”.

He added: “Given the volatile situation, I would like to see the £2 fare cap continue, rather than end abruptly, which could have a devastating impact on routes like Scarborough to Leeds, which had cost £15. It could deter people from using buses at a time when we want to be doing everything we can to encourage them.”

When asked if he was concerned about the impact of the end of the £2 fare cap and what, if any, action he was intending to take, Mr Skaith did not directly respond.

He said his ambition had always been to see efficient, affordable public transport services linking people in rural, coastal and urban areas throughout the region.
Mr Skaith said: “I believe the continuity of the existing bus services, delivered through City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council, are currently the best solution. I look forward to constructive discussions with transport leaders at both authorities, on subsidised fares, integrated ticketing and franchising.
“I also look forward to seeing detailed plans on public transport, from national government, and how they can benefit residents of York and North Yorkshire.”