Colin Speakman, of Friends of Dalesbus, warns of dire consequences for rural transport without a radical change to funding

IN 2008 the Government introduced free travel for senior citizens on all public bus services in England. For many people in their 60s, this was a hugely liberating gift from Government, giving them untold freedom of travel opportunity. For others this was an extravagance, a profligate Government giving away too much, that other taxpayers would have to pay for.

The Government promised that they would pay for this facility so that operators would be 'no better and no worse off' with the scheme. In England money was given to local authorities to pay operators, but in 2011 this money was no longer ring-fenced, so that cash-strapped local authorities could easily use it for other purposes, such as highway maintenance.

North Yorkshire had another solution to the rising costs of bus passes – simply cut the rural buses and senior pass (ENCT) claims would tumble. Councillors noticed that many people riding on North Yorkshire’s buses didn’t actually live in North Yorkshire but came from such places as Leeds and even – say it quietly – Lancashire.

Why should North Yorkshire council taxpayers pay for people from West Yorkshire to come to enjoy the Dales? The fact that bus passengers spend quite a lot of money in local shops and cafes when they arrive in the Dales was quietly forgotten. Officials from North Yorkshire reduced ENCTs payments to the legal minimum.

Unfortunately bus operators by law have to accept senior passes, even if North Yorkshire was not reimbursing them sufficiently to cover their operating costs, let alone overheads. One major operator, Pennine, has already gone out of business. Rumours suggest at least one other operator is struggling to survive. Many people now blame senior citizen passes, with pensioners seen as 'scroungers'.

However, a new report by Greener Journeys – an organisation which includes bus operators, Passenger Focus, Campaign for Better Transport, the RAC Foundation – offers a different view. A study by top financial consultants KPMG proves that every £1 spent on bus pass travel brings £2.87 in financial gain to the wider local economy, as older people spend money when they go for a day out.

Much of this spend is in fact recouped by Government in VAT and other taxes, on things people buy in local shops in larger villages and market towns.

But there are other benefits too. Many older people, some on very low incomes, gain huge benefit from a day out in the countryside, meeting family and friends, going for a walk, doing some shopping, having a meal. Free bus travel also encourages many people to give their time as volunteers.

Benefits are not only physical, such as reducing obesity, but psychological. Lonely people enjoy company and the stimulus of a day out. Savings to the National Health Service are immeasurable, far outweighing the costs of the scheme.

And if people who have a car available, decide – because it is free - to take the bus, this also benefits other motorists, reducing traffic congestion on Dales roads, making it easier for drivers making essential journeys. Busloads of older people coming into Skipton to shop mean more car park space available for other users. Everyone benefits. It is a highly cost effective way to reduce traffic management costs and accidents.

North Yorkshire County Council simply doesn’t get it. As was found when Pennine collapsed, replacing a decent hourly bus services with 16-seater minibuses, often leaving people behind, is no substitute for a regular bus service with adequate seats and space for wheelchairs, buggies and luggage.

If you put on decent, well-planned and well-promoted bus services, people use them. The highly praised Sunday DalesBus services, managed by a small team of dedicated volunteers from Yorkshire Dales Society’s Dales & Bowland Community Interest Company, now manages a network of 12 Sunday bus services, plus the popular Saturday Malham-Skipton-Harrogate bus. Buses are often full to standing. It is anticipated over 50,000 passenger journeys will be made in this year.

But from next April, transport chiefs in Northallerton now intend to refuse to pay for senior citizens travelling on the Sunday DalesBus network, claiming on dubious legal grounds that they are mainly 'tourist' buses. If they get their way, senior citizens catching the 872 bus from Burnley to Grassington will be carried free from Lancashire, but those getting on in Skipton would have to pay. But everyone will have to pay to return home – perhaps between £4 to £6 per head.

2015 could see a total collapse in bus provision in the Yorkshire Dales as squeezed by cuts in financial support, and ENCT funding, bus operators are forced out of business. If you have no car and want to travel, forget the bus. You will need to rely on charity, pre-booked volunteer car or community bus schemes or a county council minibus - weekday mornings only.

But it’s not just older people or visitors without their own cars who will suffer. It’s like the affordable housing issue. Lose the regular, scheduled public bus services then young people in the Dales trying to get to jobs or education, or wanting to access sport or leisure, will miss out most. Increasingly they will leave the area, adding to the estimated loss of 50 per cent of young people from Upper Dales communities since 1981. Without radical change to current transport funding by central and local Government, the Dales will become a retirement enclave for the elderly and affluent.