Bus users stranded as evening journeys are culled

Local authorities have long subsidised public transport in remote areas, where private bus companies say it is not economical to run services simply for profit – but the £1bn cuts imposed on the region by the Government mean many councils are now reducing their support.

In North Yorkshire, the county council cut its £6m-a-year bus subsidy by 10 per cent, spelling the end for many evening and Sunday services across England’s largest rural county.

“We’ve lost a lot of important services here since April,” said David Slater, a 61-year-old bus user living in Scarborough.

“There are no services in and out of the town on most of the routes now after about 7pm. If you’re like me and you don’t have a car, that’s a real problem.

“If you’re working shifts or if you want to go out in Scarborough in the evening, then basically you have to get a taxi. It’s bad for people and it’s bad for the economy.”

The cuts have been strongly opposed by local councillor Nick Harvey, who is calling on the council to fund some sort of community transport project to replace the services.

“This is a relatively poor area compared to other parts of North Yorkshire – there are a lot of people on minimum wage and working seasonal jobs,” Coun Harvey said. “We have a big elderly population as well. People rely on public transport here.

“If you work evenings and you don’t live in the town centre, how are you supposed to get back?”

Other rural parts of the county are facing similar problems.

In West Yorkshire, the integrated transport authority is making £7m of cuts next year, with rural bus routes across Kirklees among the areas set to suffer.

Elderly people’s charities believe the impact will be particularly severe on vulnerable people already isolated by infirmity and old age.

“Transport is a key thing for so many people,” said Alex Bird, chief officer for North Yorkshire Age UK. “People are being told they can access day care but they now have to provide or pay for their own transport. It’s meaning in these rural areas, some people just cannot access these services.”

Up on the North York Moors, meanwhile, the authority which runs the famous national park is winding up its popular Moorsbus scheme, which carries about 10,000 passengers every year.

Andy Wilson, chief executive of the North York Moors National Park Authority, said: “The budget cuts we are having to impose are obviously going to affect services, and so ultimately the experiences that people have in the national park. It is an extremely challenging time.”

In urban areas, too, bus services are suffering. Leeds Council’s free city centre bus service ended in April when the authority withdrew its subsidy. Passengers are now charged 50p to use the service.

In Bradford, a similar free service has survived for now – but council leader Ian Greenwood has warned it may yet face the axe next yea.

For motorists, the full impact of the cuts has not yet been fully felt.

But with the vast majority of local authorities reducing their road repair budgets significantly, a further deterioration of the region’s already pot-holed roads appears inevitable.

“Our surveys show more people in Yorkshire are worried about the state of the roads than in any other region in England,” said Paul Watter, head of roads policy at the AA.

“It is a major concern. We know the networks will look less tidy, less cared-for, and agencies have made no secret of that.

“Repairs will be left longer and it’s going to add up to a less good -looking roads network. And underlying that, the overall deterioration we have long been experiencing in the UK will accelerate.

“Our road network actually needs major investment - continuing to patch these little holes will not make one iota of difference.”

It is not all doom and gloom for motorists, however.

In Sheffield, the council is set to sign a new highways PFI scheme that will harness more than £1bn of Government investment to repair every highway in the city.

And in East Riding, the council has managed to invest an extra £3m in pot-hole repairs this year.