The B10 Club
The B10 Club is a new informal network of people who care about the Bowland Transit B10 bus service and believe it should continue for the benefit of the local community, the local economy and visitors to the area.
As individuals, we believe we can make a difference – by helping to promote and publicise the service to local people and to visitors, by distributing literature, by organising guided walks and other events to help both the County Councils and the bus operator to retain and develop the network for local communities and visitors alike.
Please join The B10 Club to help our campaign to ensure that this valuable service prospers in the future – it’s free to join, and details of how to do so appear below.
CHANGES TO THE B10 FROM 31st MARCH 2008
Getting more People onto the Buses
Bowland Transit Guided Walks Programme
What is the B10?
The B10 is the little white bus that winds it way four times a day between Clitheroe and Settle, through the rolling hills and pastures of the Forest of Bowland. It is a lifeline for local communities, for villages such as Slaidburn, Tosside and Dunsop Bridge, getting people to work, school and the shops. What’s more, it also brings in visitors, who not having cars or leaving their cars at home, contribute far less to pollution, accidents and congestion. True sustainable tourism is car free tourism where people come by bus and train, walk, cycle, use the “Green networks” of paths and green lanes which are such a feature of Bowland.
Click here for timetable details.
The B10 is a part of the award-winning Bowland Transit network. There is also a B12 bus which on Thursdays in summer heads westwards from Clitheroe to Chipping and smaller communities to Garstang market.
The B10 was named as one of the top scenic bus journeys in Britain in a recently published book by David McKie – something we all know, but nice when such recognition comes from an outside source.
But sadly the B10 is under threat. Constant pressure on local authority transport budgets with below-inflation budget increases at a time of rising costs for fuel, wages, insurance and disability provision, mean that each year the County Council has to scrutinise every non-commercial contract, seeking savings wherever possible. A bus such as the B10, which serves small communities over relatively long distances, is doubly vulnerable to the cost cutters.
Yet in terms of sustainability the B10 scores high. The Forest of Bowland has been officially designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and this landscape is vulnerable to the negative impacts of traffic pollution and congestion. Equally nearby catchment communities in the urban areas of Central and East Lancashire, and West Yorkshire contain a high percentage of people who do not have access to a car – but have equal right to enjoy the splendid, healthy-giving countryside and open spaces of the Forest of Bowland.
Bus users also spend money in the local economy. As recent research by the University of Central Lancashire shows, bus users spend significant amounts of money within the local economy, helping small businesses such as catering, retail and accommodation establishments. Local pubs and cafés benefit from good quality local bus services such as the Bowland Transit service.
Getting more People onto the Buses
Everyone knows that the more visitors travel on a rural bus service, the better it performs financially. A range of attractive bargain fares such as the popular Ribble Valley Day Ranger ticket cuts the cost of travel. For only £4.50 for a day’s travel, (£2.25 for children or NW Permit holders, £9 for families), you can travel on any bus in the Ribble Valley including the B10. What not many people realise is that the ticket is also valid on many linking services within Lancashire outside the Ribble Valley, such as from Burnley, Blackburn, Accrington, Preston into the Ribble Valley. You can buy the ticket on the first bus you use.
For senior citizens living in parts of Lancashire and North Yorkshire, free travel on the B10 is already a reality, and this will be available to many more over-60s from April 2008 when the Senior Citizen permit system will cover the whole of England.
This is a wonderful opportunity for the B10 and the Forest of Bowland to be discovered by many more people who would otherwise have no choice of travel. But younger people too can make use of the bus network to access some of the grandest, wildest landscapes in the North of England, especially with the new CROW Act Access Area now being available. The bus is ideal for linear or point to point walks, away from the restrictions imposed by the car to do only circular walks (though a car can also be used, combined with bus travel, for linear walks). The B10 offers true freedom, without causing additional environmental problems and traffic pollution.
How The B10 Club Works
The B10 Club is centred around our mailing list, for regular mail outs (which might also be by e-mail) giving you news of what is happening on the Bowland Transit network over the next few months. We will let you know about the proposed programme of guided walks over the spring and summer months, at time of writing this is likely to alternate between shorter walks on Wednesdays and longer walks on Saturdays. We will also keep you informed of anything else that is going on, such as local events accessible by the Bowland Transit bus network, and on other buses in the area.
Spring is an important time for B10 and Bowland Transit, as new contracts for the operation of the service will be issued by Lancashire County Council and a new timetable introduced from 31st March.
The B10 Club is an entirely independent body, providing a means of communication between those of us who believe at the present time of rapid climate change, rural public transport services such as the B10 are vital for the social and environmental well being of the countryside.
The B10 Club is “hosted” by the Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company, an entirely independent, “social enterprise” company that is not allowed to use any profits except for its social objectives. The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Yorkshire Dales Society, the Settle-based independent environmental charity, in partnership with the Yorkshire Dales Public Transport Users Group, bus users who care equally about services across the boundary into Lancashire.
The B10 Club works closely with Lancashire and North Yorkshire county councils and with the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to help promote the service.
How You can Help
You can help first and foremost by joining the membership list if you haven’t already done so, and travelling whenever you can on the B10 and encouraging other people to travel on the B10 and join The B10 Club.
To join The B10 Club please send your name and address to:
B10 Club, c/o Dales & Bowland CIC,
The Town Hall, Cheapside, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD23 9AJ
or e-mail us
We are not making any charge for membership, but would welcome any offers of assistance, maybe distributing literature, helping with guided walks or lobbying local councillors, including your parish councils
We are also keen to hear your views, ideas and suggestions – how could the service be improved?, what can we do to better promote the service?
Naturally if you’d like to make donation towards our costs, it will be gratefully received and any cheques should be payable to the Dales & Bowland Community Interest Company and sent to the above address.
