Money pressures building on Harrogate district's bus services despite £1.6m support from North Yorkshire County Council

Pateley Bridge - North Yorkshire County Council says it is doing what it can to save the town's 24 bus service.

North Yorkshire County Council says it is doing what it can to save Pateley Bridge's 24 bus service but warns that is is only one of 80 routes which are at risk of needing to reduce their frequency or being cut altogether this year.

All Monday to Saturday journeys on the 24 bus service are operated commercially by Harrogate Bus Company.

But the set-up changed in October when the operator announced that the service was no longer commercially viable and they intended to withdraw most journeys.

North Yorkshire County Council stepped in to financially support the service but that ends in April, leaving commuters, residents, visitors and workers facing a sketchy bus service at best between Pateley Bridge and Harrogate.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transportation, Coun Keane Duncan, said there were still hopes of saving the service.

“After taking into consideration the impact that this withdrawal would have on the residents of Pateley Bridge and the communities along the route, the council stepped in to financially support the 24 service until April 2023."We are currently seeking costs from operators to continue service 24 after April in the hope it can be maintained at a similar level.”

But Coun Duncan acknowledged it wasn’t just bus operators which were facing money pressures in 2023 but the county council itself.

“The issues affecting the 24 service come at a time of immense pressure for bus services both nationally and across North Yorkshire," said Coun Duncan.“Passenger numbers are on average around 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels while operating costs have increased and there is a national shortage of drivers."Combined with Government grant funding coming to an end in March, around 80 routes are at risk of needing to reduce their frequency or cease altogether.

“We already use £1.6m of council funds each year to support bus services that are not commercially viable.

"This funding is likely to become increasingly stretched given the scale of the challenges we are facing.“We are doing everything we can to protect as much of the network as possible through this difficult period.”