Harrogate passengers face warning that 80 bus services face being cut in North Yorkshire

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, Wednesday, Conservative MP Nigel Adams whose constituency includes parts of the Harrogate district, told the House of Commons 80 bus services in North Yorkshire were at risk of being cut.

Although Prime Minister Riushi Sunak, who represents Richmond, responded by saying he hoped extra Government money would "find its way to rural areas like North Yorkshire", campaigners claim the bus system as a whole is now in crisis.

Matthew Topham, a Campaigner at ‘Better Buses for North Yorkshire’, said: "If we want to protect our services from cuts, our local leaders must seize the opportunity presented by the new devolution deal to bring buses into local control.

"The crisis in North Yorkshire's buses stem from the awful system we use to run them - a patchwork of private companies prevented from integrating their services by competition law.

"No other European country has such a ridiculous system."Compare this to networks in 'local control' where the council coordinates services to maximise the public benefits, for instance, the locally-controlled networks in London and Jersey are much more efficient with public subsidy and deliver more frequent and reliable services."

Last month saw North Yorkshire County Council leader Coun Carl Les admit that passengers in the county faced a "use it or lose it" situation as the financial pressures mounted for bus operators.

Despite the county council's ongoing support for bus services to the tune of £1.6 million annually, bus operators are being squeezed between lower passenger bus numbers since the pandemic, rising costs, staff shortages and the looming end of the Government's emergency support to bus companies.“Throughout

the pandemic, the Government has provided significant support to commercial companies to keep services running in North Yorkshire that would otherwise have been lost," said Coun Les.

“While it is very welcome that this has been extended until March, we know many routes are continuing to struggle and companies tell us it will be impossible for these to continue operating without significant additional funding."

Speaking at a meeting of Harrogate Borough Council, Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Aldred, who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley ward, said the potential loss of bus services was part of a pattern following years of austerity cutbacks.

Coun Aldred said: "We have got this deregulated system where as soon as a service isn't making a profit in the eyes of the provider, it gets lost."

Last month the boss of award-winning Harrogate Bus Company said he was still confident about improving services for passengers despite facing a “lethal cocktail” of pressures for bus operators.

“Having to balance the pressures against customer numbers not reaching 2019-levels provides a lethal cocktail,” said the firm’s chief executive Alex Hornby.

“We need commitment from partners who have a responsibility to promote and grow bus travel.

"But I remain deeply positive about bus travel. We have invested millions - and will continue to do.”

Aspirations for a better bus services in North Yorkshire suffered a major setback in April when North Yorkshire County Council's bid for £116 million towards improving bus services as part of Boris Johnson's Bus Back Better scheme was rejected by the Government.