An Introduction to Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company
Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company (D&BCIC) is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit social enterprise, which promotes public transport and manages much of the Sunday and Bank Holiday DalesBus network, providing access into and around the Yorkshire Dales area. It is a subsidiary of the Yorkshire Dales Society (also known as Friends of the Dales), a registered charity.
Business Model
The CIC has its own independent board of directors who are all unpaid volunteers working in partnership with commercial rail and bus operators, community transport operators, user groups, local attractions and other businesses and local authorities. The CIC directors determine the routes, timetables, fares, and ticketing as well as undertaking the marketing, fundraising and management of the network of around fourteen Sunday and Bank Holiday bus services which operate during the summer months, with a smaller network during the winter. DalesBus is the CIC’s registered trademark, owned jointly with the Friends of DalesBus.
The CIC does not own or operate any vehicles. All services are competitively tendered from local commercial operators to ensure best value-for-money. The CIC does not compete with existing commercial routes but rather identifies where there are gaps in existing service provision to places where people want to go, particularly on Sundays and Bank Holidays, and so enabling people from the main conurbations in West Yorkshire, Lancashire, and the North East to access the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale National Landscape without a car.
Funding
DalesBus services are not commercial and the costs of providing the bus services are only partly covered by fares and reimbursement for passengers using concessionary passes. The funding gap is filled by financial support from West Yorkshire Combined Authority (Metro) and increasingly by sponsorship from commercial and charitable organisations, donations from organisations such as user groups and town/parish councils, and individual donations.
The annual funding requirement for the DalesBus network is now over £150,000 (after fares and concessionary reimbursement) and in addition to core financial support from WYCA D&BCIC has been fortunate to secure sponsorship in recent years from Acorn Stairlifts, Arriva Rail North, the Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust, Harrogate Spring Water, LNER, National Trust, North Yorkshire Council's Locality Fund, TransPennine Express and Yorkshire Water as well as donations from other organisations such as parish and town councils, business organisations, the Friends of DalesBus, Friends of the Settle Carlisle Line, Friends of the Dales, Jack Brunton Charitable Trust, Jaytee Charitable Trust and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, in addition to numerous individual donations.
To help maintain and develop the DalesBus network D&BCIC are now seeking further commercial sponsorship - if this may be of interest to your business please get in touch with us.
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.”
Thank you to everyone who helps support the DalesBus network. Please click here to support the DalesBus network via Local Giving.
Passenger Numbers
Since D&BCIC was established in 2007 over 450,000 passenger journeys have been made on the services managed by the CIC. In 2022-23 over 42,000 passenger journeys were made.
Annual Reports
Please visit our news page to download our latest annual report.
Business Model
The CIC has its own independent board of directors who are all unpaid volunteers working in partnership with commercial rail and bus operators, community transport operators, user groups, local attractions and other businesses and local authorities. The CIC directors determine the routes, timetables, fares, and ticketing as well as undertaking the marketing, fundraising and management of the network of around fourteen Sunday and Bank Holiday bus services which operate during the summer months, with a smaller network during the winter. DalesBus is the CIC’s registered trademark, owned jointly with the Friends of DalesBus.
The CIC does not own or operate any vehicles. All services are competitively tendered from local commercial operators to ensure best value-for-money. The CIC does not compete with existing commercial routes but rather identifies where there are gaps in existing service provision to places where people want to go, particularly on Sundays and Bank Holidays, and so enabling people from the main conurbations in West Yorkshire, Lancashire, and the North East to access the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale National Landscape without a car.
Funding
DalesBus services are not commercial and the costs of providing the bus services are only partly covered by fares and reimbursement for passengers using concessionary passes. The funding gap is filled by financial support from West Yorkshire Combined Authority (Metro) and increasingly by sponsorship from commercial and charitable organisations, donations from organisations such as user groups and town/parish councils, and individual donations.
The annual funding requirement for the DalesBus network is now over £150,000 (after fares and concessionary reimbursement) and in addition to core financial support from WYCA D&BCIC has been fortunate to secure sponsorship in recent years from Acorn Stairlifts, Arriva Rail North, the Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust, Harrogate Spring Water, LNER, National Trust, North Yorkshire Council's Locality Fund, TransPennine Express and Yorkshire Water as well as donations from other organisations such as parish and town councils, business organisations, the Friends of DalesBus, Friends of the Settle Carlisle Line, Friends of the Dales, Jack Brunton Charitable Trust, Jaytee Charitable Trust and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, in addition to numerous individual donations.
To help maintain and develop the DalesBus network D&BCIC are now seeking further commercial sponsorship - if this may be of interest to your business please get in touch with us.
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.”
Thank you to everyone who helps support the DalesBus network. Please click here to support the DalesBus network via Local Giving.
Passenger Numbers
Since D&BCIC was established in 2007 over 450,000 passenger journeys have been made on the services managed by the CIC. In 2022-23 over 42,000 passenger journeys were made.
Annual Reports
Please visit our news page to download our latest annual report.