A NEW transport pressure group is calling for a long-term strategy to improve bus services in York, as services are cut this weekend.

John Bibby, convenor of York Bus Forum, says he has called on City of York Council’s transport executive member Ian Gillies to convene a bus working group to examine all possible long-term solutions.

“We campaigned against all bus cuts,” he said.”A thousand angry people signed petitions and protested – from Stamford Bridge to Poppleton. We had some success, but council and Government policy is driving us towards increased congestion and more cost and winter social isolation for needy York residents.

“The amount saved - £150,000 – sounds like a lot, but it is less than twopence per week for each York resident. Isn’t a good bus service worth more than that?”

The cash-strapped council has axed bus subsidies on certain routes to save money, with changes including the cancellation of Sunday services on the 11, 13 and 16a routes, a revised timetable on the 22, 22X, 23 and 23X services and a shortened route on the orbital 20 service.

York Press:

Mr Bibby praised an arrangement in Stamford Bridge with the number 10 service, which included funding from a local employer, but said this was only a temporary solution.

He said: “Just £1 on council tax would remove the need for cuts and there are many alternatives. These include transferring profits made from Park & Ride, getting support from shopping centres and big businesses so customers and workers can get there easily.”

Cllr Gillies said he was ‘always willing to talk to anybody,’ but the key task was to try to get more people using bus services, rather than simply spending more of taxpayers money on under-used services..

He said the council’s subsidy had had to be cut in the wake of reductions in Government grant, and said the problem with putting an extra £1 on council tax to fund bus services was that many others would argue an extra £1 should be charged to protect many other unrelated services.