Annual Report 2020-21

​Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company's annual report for 2020-21 is available to download here (PDF file).
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• Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company (D&BCIC) provided a limited “DalesBus” service in 2020-21. This was greatly reduced compared to the usual network due to the coronavirus pandemic and associated restrictions on travel.
  
  
• Previously in 2019-20 D&BCIC provided a network of 14 Sunday and Bank Holiday public bus services into and around the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale/ Forest of Bowland Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty throughout Summer 2019, plus one Summer Saturday service. Five services continued on Sundays all year.
  
  
• D&BCIC is a volunteer-run not-for-profit social enterprise owned by Friends of the Dales, a registered charity. D&BCIC has its own independent board of directors who are all unpaid volunteers working in partnership with commercial bus operators, community transport operators, user groups, local attractions and other businesses and local authorities.
  
  
• DalesBus is not just a local but also a regional transport network. It normally serves a wide range of catchment communities across the North of England, from Preston to Middlesbrough, and Lancaster to York. Although primarily designed to meet the needs of urban communities to access the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale/Forest of Bowland AONBs, DalesBus also provides a much-valued service for local communities within the Dales who otherwise would have no transport on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays, thereby further isolating those without access to their own transport.
  
  
• 3,547 passenger journeys were made on services provided by D&BCIC in 2020-21, compared with 30,370 the previous year.
  
  
• DalesBus provides access to the National Park for those without a car available, relieves social isolation, encourages healthy exercise, relieves congestion and pollution from excessive car transport and expands markets for local businesses. But for many years now it has survived hand to mouth with little long-term funding. The National Bus Strategy “Bus Back Better” provides an opportunity to put these services on a secure long-term footing. We note that the strategy states:
  "In popular tourist areas such as the West Country and the national parks, often blighted and congested by too many cars, we want Bus Service Improvement Plans to show how far more will be done to promote buses to visitors, with improved services, easily accessible information, park-and-ride sites and special tickets. Scenic railways, such as the Settle-Carlisle and West Highland lines, are now significant tourist attractions and wealth generators in their own right. We see no reason why several of Britain’s equally splendid bus routes should not be marketed in the same way."

We call on the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, North Yorkshire County Council and surrounding local authorities to build on the DalesBus experience to realise this vision for public transport to and within the Yorkshire Dales and adjacent AONBs.

D&BCIC, together with our partner organisations Friends of the Dales and the Friends of DalesBus, is already seeking funding for the 2022-23 financial year.  We would be delighted to hear (via feedback@dalesandbowland.com) from any individuals, organisations or companies who might be interested in providing financial support, sponsorship or assistance with fundraising. Donations can also be made on our Local Giving page.

In the meantime, we’d like to thank everyone who helped support the DalesBus network in 2020-21 and 2021-22.