Views sought on £2m plan to tackle York city centre bus delays
Ruling Labour's transport spokesperson Kate Ravilious said no final proposals had been agreed and the scheme aimed to reduce unnecessary through traffic, but it would not completely stop private vehicle access.Organisations including York Bus Forum and York Cycle Campaign welcomed the plans but opposition Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Stephen Fenton said the council should avoid making traffic worse elsewhere.According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a meeting on Tuesday heard issues along the route included buses being delayed at traffic lights and having trouble negotiating tight turns.People walking, cycling or travelling by wheelchair along the route also faced issues including narrow pavements, a lack of crossings and limited road space for bikes.The report stated several options were being considered for the route to overcome the challenge of not having enough space to implement dedicated bus lanes.
The Sustainable Transport Corridor aims to reduce bus journey times by an average of three minutes along the route by July 2026.Objectives include improving bus punctuality to 97% between Rougier Street and Stonebow by July 2027 and increasing the number of pedestrians, wheelchair users and cyclists.Ravilious said the plan would bring improvements that would benefit bus users in York and beyond.She said: "We as a council are paying subsidies to the tune of more than £3.5m to keep buses running and one of the reasons they're not running reliably is because of delays along this corridor."This will make transport better for everyone and it could bring additional benefits like improved bus stops along with allowing alternative uses for the highway such as pavement cafes."
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STV News
5 hours ago
- STV News
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State-owned ferry operator CalMac has paid out more than £460,000 in compensation to passengers because of delays and cancellations since April last year. The Liberal Democrats said the bill is 'soaring' because ministers at Holyrood had 'let the Scottish ferry network deteriorate', with delays impacting the delivering of planned new vessels. CalMac paid £432,735 in compensation to travellers in 2024-25, with a further £33,792 paid out in May and June this year – the first two months of 2025-26. The compensation bill for last year is up by more than 37% from 2023-24, when CalMac paid out £314,494 – but is still lower than in 2022-23 when payments amounted to £454,000. It comes as the ferry operator, which runs lifeline services to islands on Scotland's west coast, struggles with reliability issues due to its aging fleet of vessels. 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'This is why we are looking forward to welcoming 13 new vessels to the CalMac fleet by 2029, which will lead to less technical problems and cancellations, giving passengers a more reliable service.' A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: 'Between Jan 2015 and June 2025 CalMac have operated over 1.6 million sailings, with just 5.5% of scheduled sailings cancelled. Of those cancelled sailings, 25% were for technical reasons whilst more than double was due to the weather at 60%. 'CalMac are delivering services in increasingly challenging weather and the arrival of 13 new vessels by 2029, which started with MV Glen Sannox in January this year, will reduce technical issues and these modern vessels should also be able to operate in more challenging weather and sea conditions. 'In the coming year, the Scottish Government intend to invest over £530m maintaining and enhancing our networks, and strengthening resilience of services on the west coast and northern isles. This represents a near 23% increase on 24-25 funding levels. 'Stakeholder feedback is important and that is why we regularly consult with island communities. The Cabinet Secretary has also been visiting islands over the summer to hear from users and ferry staff, with the latest visit taking place this week.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Powys County Times
a day ago
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Mortgage lenders under fire from Mid Wales MP David Chadwick
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Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Glasgow Times
Locks need urgent repair amid threat to future of Cambridge punting
The flat-bottomed boats, propelled along the river by someone pushing a long pole against the river bed, have been enjoyed by visitors to the prestigious university city for more than a century. But the possible collapse of a lock island could take out a sluice, lowering the river water level to a 'muddy trickle' and putting an end to punting, it is feared. David Goode, chair of the Conservators of the River Cam – which manages a stretch of the river, said a structural engineer surveyed two locks as 'in imminent danger of collapse' in May last year. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey punts along the river Cam during his visit to Cambridge. (Chris Radburn/ PA) Both Jesus Green Lock near central Cambridge and Bait's Bite Lock, further north on the river, remain closed to navigation as they are 'unsafe'. He said work to replace the two locks could cost around £25 million, and the conservators do not have the money to do it. Sir Ed, speaking after he tried his hand at punting on Friday, said: 'I think these locks urgently need to be repaired and potentially rebuilt. 'It's essential for people using the river but the river itself. 'Without that water control, the river would go to a trickle. 'Punting might just go away. Jesus Lock on the River Cam in Cambridge. (Chris Radburn/ PA) 'All the jobs, all the revenue, all the tourism that brings to this great city. 'So this is actually quite an urgent investment and I hope Cambridge City Council can work with the Government or with other agencies to get that investment.' Rod Ingersent, managing director of Scudamores – a Cambridge punting company, said: 'It's almost certainly been a problem building over many decades and it's to do with very old structures which are expensive to maintain.' He said that 'something of this scale gets beyond' what the conservators 'can be reasonably expected to do as it requires so much investment and so much expertise in the maintenance of old structures'. 'But the effect would be catastrophic for punting, certainly for the colleges above the lock, the old buildings would be in trouble, and there's some amazing listed buildings along the college backs, they'd be under risk from the foundations being affected,' he said. 'Then below the lock the rowing with the city and the college clubs, that would be disrupted.' Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey punts along the river Cam during his visit to Cambridge. (Chris Radburn/ PA) He said the problem was of 'such a scale, the level of funding, it needs to go up some stages'. 'It might… need to go up to Defra, up to central government possibly,' Mr Ingersent said. 'I think it's not reasonable to expect the Cam conservancy to do it from their own resources, they're quite a small body and their main task is looking after navigation rather than I suppose being maintainers of old structures which they've inherited.' He said water has been 'scouring away at the foundations' of the lock island, and if there were another high water event it 'could be very challenging and something could start to give way with maybe quite catastrophic results'. Mr Goode said the river level is 'artificially held high' to allow navigation, and if the lock island collapsed it could take out a sluice causing the water level to drop. 'The lock irons are directly connected to the sluices so if the lock island collapses it's going to take out the Environment Agency sluice with it, I imagine, and that would be the issue with water level,' said Mr Goode. Jesus Lock on the River Cam in Cambridge. (Chris Radburn/ PA) 'Because then the water level would not be maintained at its current depth which it is on the Backs, which is the section of the river where the punting takes place.' He said that 'every 20 years or so' the conservators ask the Environment Agency to drop the river level so 'we can clear the crap out of the river'. 'Bikes, shopping trolleys, all the things students and townspeople throw in on a drunken night out,' said Mr Goode. 'When we do that we let the water out so we simulate what would happen if the sluice or the weir failed. 'All that's left is a muddy trickle. 'You would not be able to support punting at all. 'You could walk across it (the river) from one side to the other. 'So that would be the end of punting if that were to happen.' He said that £1.6 million 'stabilisation work', described as a 'temporary fix that will enable us to re-open the lock safely', would start at Bait's Bite lock from August 25. Mr Goode said that fix could last five to 10 years. He said they have 'sold the family silver', including some cottages and the former conservator's house which they owned, to afford the work to Bait's Bite Lock – but do not have funds for more work.
