York Park and Ride bus services are set to start earlier and run for longer as part of efforts to help visitors and commuters.
Services from York’s six Park and Ride sites will move to extended hours from Sunday, July 20, starting at 5.30am from Monday to Saturday and from 7.30am on Sundays.
The last buses will leave York city centre at 10.30pm every day and services are also set to run more often during school holidays and in the summer.
Cllr Kate Ravilious, York Council’s Labour transport spokesperson, said it would provide more options for people working shifts, enjoying a night out and others travelling to the city.
The changes come as part of York’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) which is backed by £17.3m of Government funding.
It also comes alongside the council’s wider Transport Strategy which aims to cut car use by a fifth in York by 2030.
Changes to Park and Ride sites form part of the strategy, with overnight parking planned under wider efforts to make them into multi-use transport hubs.
First Bus, which operates York’s Park and Ride sites, stated the earlier start times were designed to help shift workers and people catching morning trains.
The earliest services from Askham Bar (3), the Designer Outlet (7), Monks Cross (9), Poppleton (59) and Rawcliffe (2/2A) are set to arrive at York Station at 5.45am.
The service running from Grimston (8) travels to Piccadilly.
An adult return ticket for all Park and Ride services currently costs £3.90.
Emrys Jones, technical services manager at York Dungeon, uses the Park and Ride to travel to and from work.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) it would give him, his colleagues and others working in York’s tourism industry more flexibility with their commutes.
Mr Jones said: “Currently, on some days I’d have to pay and display which would be expensive for me.
“This improves access for me and the rest of the staff, including those who are working on late shows that finish after 9pm.”
Chris Pegg, City Cruises’ commercial and sales lead, told LDRS it would make it easier for his business to hire the staff they need.
Mr Pegg said: “We interviewed someone from Pocklington who had a great work ethic and we’d have loved to hire them but they couldn’t get in to York when we needed them.
“We’ve got nine million visitors a year coming to York, they can’t all come by road, the city should be going for more than that but they need other options that won’t create more congestion.”
Council Transport Executive Member CllrRavilious said the extended hours followed public consultations clearly showing support for the changes.
Cllr Ravilious said: “We hope this will make public transport more accessible, affordable and convenient for a whole raft of people, by making it so shift workers for instance don’t have to get a taxi to get home.
“We want to build on the success of our record year for Park and Rides last year, the more people take the bus the more bus services we can put on.
“We can’t do everything to improve transport in York in one fell swoop or overnight, but extending the hours of Park and Rides opens up more options for us.”
First Managing Director Andy Cullen said the changes reflected the company’s committment to create a bus network that worked for local people and supported the city’s economy.
York and North Yorkshire’s Labour Mayor David Skaith said it would see all of the city’s Park and Rides operate on a consistent timetable for the first time.
The mayor said: “For too long, public transport hasn’t always worked for everyone, especially those with early starts or late finishes.”
Local Transport Minister Simon Lightwood said the changes were part of efforts to kick-start a bus revolution that would drive growth and ensure people had access to jobs and opportunities.
By: J Gerrard, LDRS
