Flagship bus scheme extended to serve more villages in Dales

A FLAGSHIP project which saved under-threat bus services from the axe is being expanded to serve more communities in the remotest parts of the Yorkshire Dales.

Nearly 2,500 passengers have taken advantage of the community transport service based in Hawes since it was launched in May last year.

And plans are now being drawn up to introduce a second bus to extend what is thought to be the first scheme of its kind in the country.

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Richmondshire District Council’s leader, Coun John Blackie, helped launch the scheme and claimed it is now a vital lifeline for isolated communities throughout the Upper Dales.

The existing service involves a team of seven volunteers, although a recruitment drive has seen another four members sign up.

The volunteers have been involved in running scheduled services as well as heading out on specific individual journeys which have been pre-booked by passengers.

The scheme, dubbed the Little White Bus, has carried a total of 2,475 passengers between May 16 last year and January 31 on a vast array of journeys ranging from school excursions to taking patients to hospital appointments.

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Coun Blackie, who also represents the Upper Dales on North Yorkshire County Council, said: “The Little White Bus has been a huge success, and it is now a vital service for many people living across the Upper Dales.

“We have helped transport a host of people from teenagers to the elderly. The service had been due to be scrapped, so all these people would have had to find other means to make their journeys.

“While it may not be the answer to everyone’s needs, the Little White Bus is going a long way to help serve these remote communities.

“The community transport schemes appear to be the way forward as they are making a real difference in areas where bus services are very limited.”

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The community transport service was due to become a victim of North Yorkshire County Council’s attempts to save £69m to counter the Government’s cuts.

But the Upper Wensleydale Community Partnership started operating the Little White Bus service in Hawes and villages in about a 10-mile radius, providing transport to residents for journeys including shopping trips and GP appointments.

The project also preserved a scheduled bus service between Hawes and Gayle through Upper Wensleydale to the remote Garsdale Station, timed to meet trains arriving from Leeds and Carlisle. Community groups are able to hire the bus out on specific journeys for a fare of £7 per passenger, and £5 for concessions.

Richmondshire District Council’s strategy board will be asked on Tuesday next week to approve plans to release £10,000 in funding to pay for about half of the cost of a new bus.

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The new vehicle, which is due to be launched in May, will provide extra services alongside the existing 16-seater minibus. The new addition is expected to be a smaller vehicle to help negotiate the narrow country lanes in the Upper Dales. The remainder of the funding is expected to be secured from different sources, including the Upper Wensleydale Community Partnership and the Dales Integrated Transport Alliance (DITA).

The biggest transport revolution in the Dales in living memory went live in October when work began to provide local transport hubs, monitored by a central IT scheduling system. DITA scooped £1.1m when £155.5m was awarded to 39 proposals nationally under the Local Sustainable Transport Fund’s first tranche of funding.

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