Annual Report 2023-24

​Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company's Annual Report for 2023-24 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 2023 two Saturday and fourteen Sunday and Bank Holiday public bus services into and around the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale National Landscape. Two Saturday and five Sunday services continued through the winter period, including the first Winter Sunday bus service to Malham for many years.
  
  
• D&BCIC is a volunteer-run not-for-profit social enterprise owned by charity Friends of the Dales.
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• 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, including West Yorkshire and the Tees Valley as well as North Yorkshire and the City of York. Although primarily designed to meet the needs of urban communities to access the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale National Landscape, 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. 
  
  
• 53,388 passenger journeys were made on bus services managed by D&BCIC in 2023-24, an increase of 28% over the 41,731 journeys made the previous year.  This exceeds the objective set in our 2021-2024 Business Plan to facilitate at least 50,000 passenger journeys in 2023-24.
  
  
• The overall social benefit of services managed by D&BCIC in 2023-24 is estimated at around £5 per passenger trip, an overall total benefit of over £250,000, using the standard Department for Transport appraisal guidelines which factor in benefits such as reduced isolation, reduced congestion and environmental impacts.
  
  
• 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 welcome the substantial contribution offered via North Yorkshire Council from BSIP Phase 3 Network North funding, which will help the continuation and development of the DalesBus network during 2024-25. Nevertheless, a long-term funding commitment is urgently needed from the new Mayor of York and North Yorkshire to secure and develop public transport provision in the area, including the DalesBus network.
  
  
• We very much hope that North Yorkshire Council’s new Local Transport Plan will recognise the importance of Sunday bus services to the physical and mental health of the residents of North Yorkshire and to the promotion of sustainable tourism, and include financial support for the DalesBus network.

D&BCIC, together with our partner organisations Friends of the Dales and the Friends of DalesBus, is now seeking funding for the 2025-26 financial year.  We would be delighted to hear (via [email protected]) 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 2023-24 and 2024-25.