Focus of work
The context for this research project is the election in May of a Mayor for the new Combined Authority of York and North Yorkshire. This body will bring together certain functions of the City of York and North Yorkshire Councils, of which strategic transport planning is one of the most important. The Mayor will have extensive powers and substantial funding under the Government’s devolution deal. After years of decline this offers the potential to bring disparate policies for public transport together within a fresh vision at a time when it is vital to offer a real alternative to the use of private cars. The aim is to reduce environmental damage and congestion and to address the deprivation and loneliness that is triggered by the withdrawal of bus services. The outline plan covers a possible network of connected high-quality inter-urban routes that would operate frequently at standard times throughout the day, every day of the week. It would be complemented by carefully-planned links with urban and local services. The entire network would make using trains and buses simple and convenient and over time build confidence in using a facility available to everyone in the community.
Impact
The proposals were widely recognised in the local election hustings. Passenger Transport Networks suggested the first step the elected Mayor could take is to improve one chosen inter-urban route. Five of the six election candidates publicly endorsed this, including the elected Labour Mayor.
The proposals were also covered in a front-page report in the York Press, and endorsed by three senior politicians.
Since then, the New Mayor’s Office has said: “This work to look at the possibilities for an Integrated Public Transport Network for York and North Yorkshire is welcomed by the Mayor and is timely as work on his Strategic Transport Plan for the area will commence soon”.