Contract wins and cancellations in York bus shake-up
Transdev York & Country is to hire new drivers after winning back local authority contract work in the city, with extended routes and more journeys.
The changes will be introduced from Monday 2 September as part of a package of changes to the area’s bus network by City of York Council.
Transdev York & Country’s buses are to serve the new Germany Beck development in Fulford for the first time, with a newly extended route 24 and existing route 25 providing a combined half-hourly service for Fulford.
And the company is to return to providing all journeys on route 19, which links Skelton, Rawcliffe and Clifton with the city centre six days a week – currently it only runs the route on Saturdays with weekday journeys provided by York Pullman.
Service 26 will cease to operate as part of the changes, with the South Bank to York section covered by First’s Service 11, which will be re-routed to include the Balmoral Terrace to Campleshon Road loop all day. The Fulford Road section will become part of service 24.
Other changes will see a new route for First York’s route 11 in South Bank, taking over from existing route 26 which will be withdrawn – while route 24 will start and finish at Acomb Shops, with the current one-way loop around Ascot Way and St Stephen’s Road replaced by an extended Connexions Buses route 16.
Meanwhile Transdev York & Country’s existing route 20, which links Rawcliffe, Haxby, New Earswick, Heworth, Tang Hall and Osbaldwick with the Clifton Moor and Monks Cross shopping parks, will continue unchanged.
As a result of the high rate of inflation since these services were last tendered in 2019, the additional costs are being met with support from the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) budget. Services 24 and 25 are also being part-funded by Section 106 contributions from the Germany Beck developer, Persimmon.
“These are key services for our local communities, and I’d like to thank all those involved for ensuring a smooth transition period” – Cllr Kate Ravilious, Executive Member for Transport at City of York Council
Cllr Kate Ravilious, Executive Member for Transport at City of York Council, said: “These are key services for our local communities, and I’d like to thank all those involved for ensuring a smooth transition period, which means there will be no break in services.
“I’m delighted that residents living in the Germany Beck development will now have a bus service and I’d encourage residents to use the new routes on offer. And don’t forget that until December, we are subsidising fares for families and young people, making buses an even better way to travel in York.”
“We’re looking forward to serving the fast-growing Germany Beck development for the first time” – Transdev York & Country General Manager, Adam Emmott
Transdev York & Country General Manager, Adam Emmott, said: “We’re looking forward to serving the fast-growing Germany Beck development for the first time, providing residents with a new bus link to the heart of the city centre – much easier, cheaper and better for the environment than taking a car into central York.
“We’re also recruiting at our state-of-the-art green depot in Rawcliffe for new drivers. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never driven a bus before as we can train you, and we’re offering £14.05 an hour while you train, rising to £15.05 an hour when you become a fully qualified driver.
“As part of Transdev, we also offer one of the best benefits packages in our industry, including free travel across a wide area of the North of England and discounts on shopping, leisure and more, plus awards and rewards for our best performers and chances to progress through our StepUp talent development programme.”