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North Yorkshire County Council, along with other Transport Authorities in England are required to produce a Bus Service Improvement Plan following the Government’s publication of its National Bus Strategy. North Yorkshire have gone out to consultation and we have contributed to a joint response with other local organisations.
The response is a joint report produced by Action for Yorkshire Transport and CPRE North Yorkshire with support from Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company, Friends of DalesBus, Friends of Moorsbus, Friends of the Dales, Moorsbus Community Interest Company and North Yorkshire Moors Association. A copy of the report can be downloaded here (PDF file). Action for Yorkshire Transport, Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company, Friends of DalesBus and Friends of the Settle Carlisle Line have recently undertaken a study on the potential for improved integrated transport in the Craven area on behalf of Craven District Council.
A copy of the report can be downloaded here (PDF file). The future of Wensleydale Flyer bus service 856 has been secured for the next six months, thanks to local donations and contributions from the Locality Fund by six local North Yorkshire county councillors.
The service runs every Sunday between Northallerton, Bedale, Leyburn and Hawes, and has been supported for the last year by TransPennine Express. Following an appeal by local bus users to North Yorkshire County Council's Richmondshire Area Constituency Committee Northallerton councillor Caroline Dickinson said she and five other members who lived along the bus route had noted how valued the service was and had agreed DalesBus should be given time to find a funding solution. The councillors (David Blades (Romanby and Broomfield); Caroline Dickinson (Northallerton); Yvonne Peacock (Upper Dales); Karin Sedgewick (Middle Dales); John Weighell OBE (Bedale) and Annabel Wilkinson (Swale)) will provide £500 from each of their Locality Budgets in the hope that further funding for the service can be found to enable the service to continue beyond Easter. D&BCIC are seeking a new sponsor for the service from April 2021 onwards, and would like to hear from any businesses who might be interested in helping to support this valuable community service. We can be contacted by email here. Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company recently made a submission to the UK Parliament Transport Committee's investigation into Coronavirus: Implications for Transport.
The submission can be viewed here (PDF file). Many summer seasonal DalesBus services into and around the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty usually start at Easter weekend.
We are sorry to advise however that this year, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we have reluctantly decided to delay the introduction of these services until further notice. We will aim to introduce them as soon as possible following the easing of government guidance on social distancing and non-essential travel, whenever that happens. In the meantime we will endeavour to continue operating our all-year Sunday DalesBus services on the winter timetable for as long as appropriate. We are aware however that reduced bus timetables are likely to be introduced in the West Yorkshire area from next Monday, so the situation may change rapidly." The latest updates on bus and train services in the Yorkshire Dales area will continue to be available on www.dalesbus.org and on Twitter @dalesbus Communities across North Yorkshire are benefiting from better Sunday connectivity thanks to TransPennine Express (TPE), as the rail company has donated £12,500 through their Community Rail Partnership Growth Fund to help support a bus service between Northallerton and Hawes that connects into a bus service between Hawes and Garsdale for the Leeds-Settle-Carlisle Railway. The 856 Wensleydale Flyer between Northallerton and Hawes operates every Sunday and Bank Holiday throughout the year, providing communities such as Bedale, Leyburn and Aysgarth with a direct Sunday service to their county town. The service is also beneficial to the local economy as it helps transport visitors to the Yorkshire Dales National Park to tourist attractions such as the Wensleydale Railway, Aysgarth Falls, the Dales Countryside Museum and Wensleydale Creamery. The service is managed by volunteers from Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company, part of the Friends of the Dales charity. Their Commercial Director, Paul Chattwood, commented: “We’re very pleased and grateful for TransPennine Express’ support for this valuable service through their Community Rail Partnership Growth Fund. TransPennine Express’ support will enable the service to keep running every Sunday throughout the winter and next summer too, following on from the funding kindly provided by Acorn Stairlifts in recent years.” Graham Meiklejohn, Regional Development Manager for TransPennine Express, said: “We are delighted to help support this key bus connection that links many communities throughout North Yorkshire, as well as our East Coast Main Line train services with those on the Settle-Carlisle Railway. Not only does this bus service help connect communities and tourists to the rail network at Northallerton, but it also boosts the local economy and helps connect some of the most beautiful parts of the country too.” For more information on Wensleydale Flyer, visit: www.dalesbus.org/wensleydaleflyer.
The Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company currently manages a network of fifteen summer and five winter weekend bus services in and around the Yorkshire Dales National Park and neighbouring Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It provides the only way for those without cars to visit and travel around the Yorkshire Dales, with around 33,000 passenger journeys being made each year. Nearly two thirds of our passengers could not have visited the Dales without DalesBus services, whilst car owners can benefit from a much wider range of linear walks by using the buses.
In order for these services to continue to be available, we are inviting businesses, charitable trusts and other local organisations to help support the network. To offer your support or to find out more please contact [email protected] now. The Dales & Bowland Community Interest Company's annual report for 2018-9 is available to download here (PDF file).
D&BCIC provided a network of 15 Sunday and Bank Holiday DalesBus services to and within the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale/ Forest of Bowland Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty throughout Summer 2018. Five services operated on Sundays during the winter months. D&BCIC is a social enterprise whose single member is a charity, the Yorkshire Dales Society, which is also known as Friends of the Dales. 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. 33,391 journeys were made on DalesBus services managed by D&BCIC during 2018-19. The 19% increase from 28,117 journeys in 2017-18 was driven by the reintroduction of a Summer Sunday service linking Otley with Nidderdale, the first full season of Winter Sunday service 24 in Nidderdale and the takeover of the Summer Saturday service between Ilkley and Grassington from North Yorkshire County Council once again. DalesBus delivers many economic, social and environmental benefits, but D&BCIC needs to secure additional longer-term funding in order to secure the future of the network. The overall cost of providing and marketing the network in 2018-19, was around £163,700, with fares income of approx. £64,000, leaving a net cost funding requirement of £99,700. D&BCIC, together with our partner organisations the Friends of the Dales and the Friends of DalesBus, will shortly be starting fundraising activities for the 2020-21 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. In the meantime, we’d like to thank everyone who has helped support the DalesBus network in 2019-20. Several weekend DalesBus services are now financially supported by commercial businesses, enabling valuable services to continue to be provided for Yorkshire Dales residents and visitors to the area. The largest commercial sponsorship deals in place for DalesBus services in 2018-19 are with:
Simon Webster, head of marketing at Steeton-based Acorn Stairlifts, said: “We were keen to give something back to the community which supported our growth and sponsoring the Wensleydale Flyer has been a great way to do it. It’s a good fit for us, as both Acorn and the Flyer are all about empowering mobility, and having our company livery on the bus is a great way to raise our profile locally. I’d encourage any other business considering sponsorship of a DalesBus service to go ahead – it’s been a win-win situation for us.” To help maintain and develop the DalesBus network we are now seeking further commercial sponsorship for Summer 2019 - if this may be of interest to your business please get in touch with us. We're also very grateful to the many smaller businesses, charities, other organisations and individuals who support the DalesBus network - thank you to you all!
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