People in York seek city transport 'changes' to get out of cars - council

At least 50 face-to-face events were held across York so people could have their say on transport in the city, the council said

Concerns over "unreliable" bus services and cycle lane safety are stopping people in York swapping their cars for other transport, councillors will hear.

These are two of the findings from a consultation into how York's 200,000 residents want to see their city's transport network look in the future.

The results will be used to develop a transport strategy for the city.

Peter Kilbane, City of York Council's deputy Labour leader, said it showed people "want to see changes".

More than 1,300 people responded to an online survey, while 130 people had their say directly on email, according to the council.

At least 50 face-to-face events were also held across the city so people who could not respond online could still get involved, officials said.

The council said that of those people who responded, there was support of between 74-90% for its 10 policy proposals.

Those proposals included improving opportunities for walking and cycling in York as well as improving public transport and shaping a city that was accessible to everyone.

A proposal to reduce car dependency was backed by 78% of people taking part in the consultation, while 14% opposed it.

Councillor Peter Kilbane said the consultation showed people wanted "changes" to how they could get around the city

Mr Kilbane, who is also the councillor responsible for transport in the city, said in the light of the consultation results, the authority had already agreed to begin working on some transport "quick wins".

They included providing better information on how to get around without using a private car and looking to improve drainage of roads and streets whenever roadworks were being carried out, he said.

"We're immensely grateful to everyone who responded to our Big Transport Consultation and heartened by the results," Mr Kilbane added.

The results "show that the people of York want to see changes to how they move around", he said.

"The next stage is to fully analyse the results and come back to residents with detailed plans for how to deliver the long-term changes they've asked for."

According to City of York Council's climate change strategy, which runs to 2032, nearly a third of all carbon emissions in the city come from transport.

That strategy includes a target to cut the number of miles driven by cars in York by one fifth.

'Bus priority'

Responding to the concerns in the consultation over bus service reliability, a spokesperson for First York, which runs buses in the city, said the company was aware punctuality and reliability were important to customers.

It said it was now using specialist software which reflected traffic congestion along routes.

The software was used to develop First's timetables and it adjusted them depending on the time of day the service was running, the spokesperson said.

They added: "This is showing results with average punctuality improving.

"One the of key factors to impact bus reliability is congestion, and we are keen to see improvements in the city to give bus priority."