Council steps in to save number 12 bus – for now
Councillors have welcomed the news that a short term contract is set to be awarded to a new operator to run the number 12 service until the end of March. The route was put under threat after First announced the plans to entirely withdraw the service from the 22 January citing low patronage recovery, increased operating costs and a shortage of available drivers.
Under the short-term contract, the new operator will receive £59k in financial support in the form of a subsidy from the Council to keep an hourly service running until the end of March. A tender for a longer-term replacement service will then take place with the objective of having a full contract in place by the 1st April.
This follows a campaign launched by local Lib Dem councillors and campaigners to save the number 12 bus, which has seen over a thousand residents sign a petition and more than 40 attend a public meeting on the future of the route.
Councillors have welcomed the extension of the service and committed to working with the new operator to help make the service a success, whilst also expressing concern about the looming funding cliff edge.
Local Westfield ward Councillor Simon Daubeney commented:
“I’m delighted that the Council has stepped in to save this vital route. This will come as a major relief to many hundreds of residents in Woodthorpe, Acomb Park and Foxwood who were facing the loss of their only public transport service.
“At the well-attended public meeting we arranged in December, it became very clear how important the service is for many residents who use it to get to the shops, to work, to medical appointments, to school and to meet friends and family.
“I’d like to thank the more than 1,000 people who signed the petition to save the number 12 and gave us their feedback on what they would like the service to look like in future, which we will discuss with the new operator and council officers.”
Councillor for Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Stephen Fenton added:
“The reduction in frequency from every half hour to every hour is disappointing, but if it is a more reliable service, then hopefully more people will be attracted to using it. It’s really crucial now that as many people as possible use the service to ensure that once April comes around, the operator can see the benefits and financial case for sustaining the service in the long term.
“This intervention by the Council is, however, no substitute for a sustainable long term approach to running bus services which are facing unprecedented challenges. Increased costs, driver shortages and slow recovery of usage levels, as well as the cliff edge of Government financial support, has created something of a ‘perfect storm.’
“Unless the sector receives urgent long-term support from the Government, both financially as well as through driver recruitment, more services are likely to face cancellation as the real extent of the bus crisis becomes clear. It is unrealistic to expect councils to solve the looming bus crisis just as inflation hits already overstretched budgets - Government really needs to wake up and act now before it’s too late.”
There will now be a separate tender exercise for the period after March, though the ending of Government financial support means that more local services are likely to need subsidies in order to keep going, at a time when council finances are more stretched than ever due to sky high inflation. If the number of passengers using the new number 12 service increases, it is more likely to be viable in the long-term as it will be less reliant on subsidy.