Connexions Buses, the trading name of Harrogate Coach Travel, has announced it is to reduce the frequency of its core Ripon- Boroughbridge-York service due to the 20% cut in BSOG from April 30.
Craig Temple, MD at Connexions Buses, told CBW: “We’ve run on this route since the establishment of the firm in 2002 and, from 2007- 2011, ran a bus every hour. Half of these were subsidised by North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC), and the other half were provided commercially by us to augment the tendered service (guaranteed by us for the duration of the tender). During this period, passenger numbers increased and customer satisfaction levels were very high.
“In April 2011, NYCC awarded the four-year contract to Eddie Brown Tours, but we persevered with our very marginal commercial operation. Sadly, the BSOG cut, and NYCC’s tender policy has resulted in us halving our service on school days, and the complete removal of it on school holidays.
“It hasn’t been an easy decision, but we can’t continue without some financial assistance,” added Temple.
He said routes 142/3 are the only services which run through 15 villages between Ripon and York, and have a regular clientele of elderly passengers who have no other method of travel.
