image source, Getty Images
Leaders say bus services in the Yorkshire Dales are limited and poorly integrated
A “significant increase” in bus services is needed in the Yorkshire Dales to reduce car use, national park leaders will say later.
The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) warned that services were “severely limited” in many areas.
Councils should push for public transport to be “a viable alternative” to driving, the authority urges.
A draft declaration of the body, which does not have transport powers, is expected to be approved later.
82% of visitors to the Yorkshire Dales arrive by car, according to surveys.
Only 4 percent of the five million people who visit the national park each year travel by bus and 2 percent arrive by train, the authority said.
‘Clear need for change’
The authority warned that “limited and fragmented” public transport services meant residents without cars struggled to get to work and school and were excluded from enjoying the countryside.
Car journeys account for 25 per cent of the national parks’ carbon footprint and caused congestion on summer weekends and public holidays, he added, calling for better integration of bus and rail services so people don’t had to drive
Mark Corner, the authority’s national environmental advocacy member, said it was “increasingly clear that for reasons of climate mitigation and accessibility” there needs to be “a change in the way people travel to the national park and it moves inside.”
image source, Getty Images
Around five million people visit the Yorkshire Dales each year, most of them by car
The YDNPA said it hoped to influence councils and operators to improve services, which it said were not “responsive to the needs of visitors or residents”.
A draft statement to be agreed by national park authority members on Tuesday called for a significant increase in bus service coverage and frequency, better coordination between bus and rail operators and increased capacity for bicycles on trains.
All “key visitor destinations” should be accessible by public transport seven days a week, the authority said, noting that some popular spots were without service on some weekdays even during the summer.
Corner said: “We need those responsible bodies to bring about a situation where people use cars less and public transport more.”
From April 1, responsibility for transport in the national park will be shared between North Yorkshire Council, Lancashire County Council and Westmorland and Furness Council.
The BBC has contacted all three local authorities for comment.
