The Combined Authority has been awarded £564,000 to deliver one
of the country's first pilot programmes exploring how bus
franchising could help rural and coastal communities.
Bus franchising gives an authority full control over routes,
fares and service standards, enabling services to be determined
by what communities need, not just commercial viability.
Were the combined authority to introduce bus franchising,
passengers could benefit from more reliable, joined-up services,
coordinated timetables and routes, simpler, clearer fares
available across multiple operators, and one accessible, easy to
understand network.
Until now, bus franchising has been focused on urban areas, such
as Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire. This pilot will
explore for the first time how franchising could work for people
living in rural areas, with the challenges of sparse networks,
long travel distances, and high dependence on subsidised travel.
In some areas of York and North Yorkshire, villages are served by
just one bus a week.
, Mayor of York and North
Yorkshire, said: “We know bus services just aren't working for
our rural and coastal communities. This pilot puts York and North
Yorkshire at the forefront of national work to fix that, not just
in our region but across the country.
“In areas like ours, buses often run less frequently and over
longer distances, and many depend on public funding to keep
going. There's very little evidence about how franchising could
support rural communities, and these studies will help fill that
gap.
“Our findings will feed directly into future Government policy on
rural transport, while also giving us a much clearer picture of
what could work locally, what it might cost and how it could
benefit our communities before we make any decisions about the
future of bus services here.”
The funding will support studies looking at local community
needs, and the challenges and opportunities of implementing
franchised bus, focused on five predominantly rural areas:
- The York – Selby corridor (including parts of South
Yorkshire)
- Scarborough coastal communities
- The North York Moors National Park
- The Yorkshire Dales National Park
- Richmondshire and Northallerton (including links to
Darlington and the Tees Valley)
The Combined Authority will explore how bus franchising could
improve access to essential services for rural residents,
including young people, older people and people with mobility
needs, benefit the environment by encouraging more people to
travel by bus, and ultimately deliver more efficient and
better-connected services across the region.
Notes to editors
The Bus Franchising Pilot was announced in the Comprehensive
Spending Review in June 2025.
