Annual Report 2021-22

​Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company's Annual Report for 2021-22 is available to download here (PDF file).
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• Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company (D&BCIC) manages much of the weekend DalesBus network, comprising during Summer 2021 two Saturday and thirteen Sunday and Bank Holiday public bus services into and around the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. One Saturday and five Sunday services continued through the winter period as well.
  
  
• 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 alongside 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 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 AONB, 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.
  
  
• 28,797 passenger journeys were made on services managed by D&BCIC in 2021-22, compared with just 3,547 the previous year when services were severely curtailed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  
  
  
• DalesBus provides access to the Dales 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. 

We urge the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, North Yorkshire County Council and surrounding local authorities to provide much greater support for the DalesBus network to help secure and increase the delivery of these many benefits.

D&BCIC, together with our partner organisations Friends of the Dales and the Friends of DalesBus, is already seeking funding for the 2023-24 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 2021-22 and 2022-23.