At The Craven Area Committee on 29/5/08 members discussed and voted on the proposed schemes.

What a stitch-up! Considering the geographical area of the study and number of schemes discussed at 1st stage it was a blow to see proposed schemes distilled down to so few and in such a reduced area (just Crosshills and Sutton).there were  bus/public transport infrastructure bids(not just moving of stops on a629) thrown out - but depressingly for me similar proposals in Settle study progressed to proposal stage.

 I have been advised by highways area office that Jacobs are looking at a cheaper scheme re. A629 bus stop issue and I would hope that this could be reinstated on the study proposal(as only reason for throwing it off was cost - a whopping great £100,000. Just to move a bus stop!). 

Other schemes seemed inexpensive and practical - traffic calming on grange road Kildwick, pedestrian safety accessing bus stops on Cononley lane end, road markings a6068 cowling - Lancs border - in light of fatalities). Whereas some of schemes that were put forward look pretty lame and possibly overpriced.

If there cannot be any movement on schemes then I would hope that there might be some movement to accommodate the rejected projects on the general highways list of proposed schemes.

background 

The Metro Ticketing Scheme, administered by METRO, provides unlimited rail and bus or bus only travel in West Yorkshire.  The area is divided into 5 zones that are centred on Leeds and the cost of the ticket varies depending on the zone you want to travel from.  The most expensive ticket covering zones 1 to 5 is approximately £1,000 pa.  The first “quick win” of the Leeds City Region was to expand the METRO Ticketing scheme to a new zone 6 which would cover Cononley to Gargrave and also to Harrogate and Knaresborough.  The central aim of the Leeds City Region is to remove the barriers within a coherent economic area to allow for growth.  The most important of these is the flexibility of the labour market and the removal of barriers for cross border travel both into Leeds/Bradford etc and also into Craven. 

Funding of a Zone 6 

The aim of the Zone 6 development was to make the scheme cost neutral as the basis of the scheme is that revenue from the ticket is divided between bus and rail operators based on the proportion of usage.  Growth in the scheme for Zone 6 would increase the revenue for the operators.  Total revenues for 2007/8 were £28m. In developing a zone 6 there needs to be a balance between attractiveness for the public and also for the operators.  A key issue here is the price differential between a rail season ticket for Skipton to Leeds (35.60 pw) and the expected cost of a rail only zone 1 to 6 ticket (£36.50).  If bus was then added the operators would only accept a zone 1 to 6 rail plus zone 1 to 5 bus at about £43.30 pw.  The key question here is why switch from a rail season ticket to rail only metro card and would the inclusion of buses in zones 1 to 5 be prohibitively expensive? If a public sector subsidy from NYCC was introduced this could make the product both more attractive for the public and the operators therefore delivering the labour flexibility and a possible shift away from the car.  NYCC have said that they will look at any proposals and discuss the costs and benefits of a subsidy. 

Alternative Products 

It is not certain whether creating two products, a zone 1 – 6 rail only, and a zone 1 to 6 rail plus 1 to 5 bus would be taken up by the public or would it be largely symbolic.  There is the opportunity to develop different more specific products that could support businesses, students, tourists, the social excluded or groups that can travel off peak all at discounts from the main offer.   An example of the business product could be that a company purchases 20 tickets at a 15% discount for any of their staff to use therefore reducing car usage etc.  Students currently pay £5.50 per week for METRO tickets and this could be expanded to zone 6 so allowing students from West Yorkshire to come to Craven College or for outdoor pursuits in the Dales but also Craven Students to go to other colleges and universities and leisure activities in Leeds etc.  The tourist card could allow travel anywhere in the City Region plus discounts to attractions for a week.  

Next Steps

METRO are aiming to introduce a Zone 6 on the 1st January 2009 although what that will comprise of is uncertain.  They will be developing a range of options based on the issues set out above and this should be produced by September. So watch this space for further developments.

Rumours about the cessation of another local bus route have reached me. There are to be changes to some routes in South Craven that will come into force on April 28th. The utilisation of community transport to fulfil routes that were dropped by commercially run Keighley and District will be good news for South Craven villages that are now missed out by the express A629 route between Keighley and Skipton. It will be a service that is very different to what we are used to but it will be better than the service provided before  - more flexible and better suited to the villages of Aire Valley. There is more to come, I am negotiating with the operator to put an extended service for 1 or 2 hours after the school run (16:00 - 18:00) every day monday - saturday. This will be announced when all partners have agreed costs and details.

In the meantime here are details of the new service…

South Craven Village Bus The South Craven Village Bus replaces the current journeys run between 0900 and 1500 by Keighley and District from Monday 28th April 2008. 

How will the South Craven Village Bus run? The South Craven Village Bus will be run as a demand responsive Community Transport service operated by Little Red Bus.  

What is a demand responsive service It is a service where the journeys are only operated  as needed and therefore travel has to be pre-booked. The route and times of journeys will vary according to the journeys booked by passengers and the need to bring together a group of passengers.  

Where can you travel on the Village Bus The area has been split into two zones, Zone 1 covering Lothersdale and Zone 2 covering Farnhill and KIldwick. Please see map over for details of area. You can travel wholly within a zone, between the zone and a connecting point in Croshills for the local bus services to Keighley and Skipton. Some journeys can be run through to Skipton Bus Station or Rail Station. 

 When does the South Craven Village Bus run? Journeys can be made between 0930 and 1500 on a Monday to Saturday.   

 The Booking Arrangements As a Demand Responsive Service passengers must pre-book their travel and to make your bookings contact Craven Voluntary Transport on 01756 701045 between 0800 and 1700  Please remember that journeys are provided on a first come first served basis so it is better if passengers book a day or two before they wish to travel. 

Timed journeys These times are a guide to help passengers to book their journeys. The times are not fixed and can be varied but must start and finish within the time that the Village Bus runs. 

Lothersdale Zone 0945 Lothersdale to Skipton and to make connections with bus to Keighley at 1010 from Crosshills1125 Skipton and Lothersdale and connection with bus from Keighley departing at 1120 in Crosshills 

Farnhill & Kildwick zone 0915 Farnhill and Kildwick to Crosshills for connections to Keighley and Skipton.1135 Farnhill and Kildwick to Crosshills for connections to Keighley and Skipton.1445 Farnhill and Kildwick to Crosshills for connections to Keighley and Skipton. 1000 Crosshills to Kildwick and Farnhill1220 Crosshills to Kildwick and Farnhill with connections from Keighley and Skipton. 1005 and 1225 Kildwick and Farnhill to Skipton 1125 and 1435 Skipton to Farnhill and Kildwick 

Concessionary Travel As a Community Transport service the South Craven Village Bus does not fall within the Concessionary Travel scheme. Passengers who hold a concessionary pass issued by Craven District Council can travel free. Please advise at the time of booking and you must present your pass to the driver when travelling. 

It  was brought to my attention recently that there were issues over bus operator Burnley and Pendle not accepting free passes from Cowling residents on the 08:55 Colne to Skipton(3 people turned off the bus this week).

Craven District Council assured me that the concessionary passes should be honoured. Any bus driver on this route who might be reading this - you really should be accepting these passes. Not to do so is wrong and just plain mean spirited.

Craven will ensure that this mix up will not happen again. Lets hope this will be the last time this issue is raised again. Life’s tough enough without having to fight and argue for what you are entitled to!

The study has reached consultation stage and residents will shortly receive the list of schemes and the option to rate them. For those people in Cononley, Farnhill and Kildwick there are two schemes that would benefit them and it is vital that the response forms are returned.  If you want these schemes to be approved please lodge your views with the consultation team.

1.  Provision of a footway link along Cononley Road

2.  Re-siting of bus stops on the A629

The 2nd stakeholder workshop took place on 31/1/08 at South Craven School. A number of schemes had been put forward at the first consultation and after assessment these were the schemes that go to stage 2. County Councillor Phil Barrett and I chaired the two groups discussing the schemes to look at which ones were of greater benefit to the residents(there is a limited sum of £300,000  to spend on schemes).

The schemes discussed along with estimated costs and LTP scoring are below -

There was an addition to list - consideration of traffic calming measures along Grange Road  - Kildwick.

Results of round two will be known soon..