Priority d) Transport: Sustainable accessible transport for all
A new plan for transport in York
Following Our Big Transport Conversation, the Local Transport Strategy was approved by Executive in July 2024. This included provision for a Movement and Place Plan which will reconsider how people navigate the city. With a focus on reallocating road space to create a real sense of place, with safe and connected networks for walking, wheeling, wheelchair users, cycling, public transport, cars and freight.
Planning Permission for the Dualling of the York Outer Ring Road was obtained on 19 March 2024.
The York Station Gateway project including the demolition of the Queen Street Bridge is well advanced and will improve transport interchange to and from York Station making it more foot friendly and with urban realm (publicly accessible spaces between buildings in an urban environment) fit for the 21st century.
A more accessible city centre
A report by independent access consultants MIMA and the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York has made clear recommendations on how to shape a more accessible city centre.
Following consultation with disabled residents, the Blue Badge city centre restrictions were lifted on 4 January 2024 at Goodramgate and at Blake Street on 8 March 2024. Meanwhile, the draft implementation plan for the Local Transport Strategy includes actions to review and expand Blue Badge car parking in the city centre and ways to enable access for disabled cyclists to the city centre, plus installation of accessible cycle parking.
Sustainable transport
To support ambitions to help more people travel on sustainable public transport, 24 single deck and 29 double deck electric buses (owned and operated by First Bus) were purchased with the support of a £10.2 million grant from ourselves via the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas Scheme. This also included support to install charging infrastructure and upgrade the power connection to the First Bus James Street depot, which is now fully electric. The buses were delivered from August 2023 with all vehicles in service following the completion of the power upgrade in April 2024. Fare initiatives have provided over 250,000 reduced price tickets for young people (age 16 and under). At the time of writing, ticket prices are capped at £1 for a single fare; or free for children travelling with an adult. To further improve the customer experience, 175 new or replacement real time information screens, which include audio announcement facilities, have been or are being installed across the city. Refurbishment work of 50 bus shelters is also taking place.
York’s Air Quality Action Plan 4 was approved by Executive in July 2024 with the ambition of building on work that has seen air quality improvements across the city centre Air Quality Management Area and wider city compared to 2022.
A public charging strategy was approved by Executive in July 2023, setting out plans to grow and maintain electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the city.
What we plan to do over the next three months
- further develop the Local Transport Strategy Implementation Plan
- further develop the Movement and Place Plan
- further develop the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan
Areas of Positive Performance
Council delivery
The number of council electric vehicle recharging points in York was 103 in 2023 to 2024.
Area-wide traffic levels, excluding the A64, from 7.00am to 7.00pm, reached 2.02 million in 2023 to 2024, compared to 2.08 million in 2022 to 2023 (from the 2009 to 2010 baseline).
The index of pedestrians walking to and from the city centre (percentage from the 2009 to 2010 baseline) was 125% in 2023, compared to 124% in 2022.
The percentage of customers arriving at York Station by sustainable modes of transport was 78% in 2023, compared to 60% in 2022.
