White Rose Agreement

[Steve440]

Interesting article about the formation of a 'White Rose Agreement' between West, North and South Yorkshire Mayors. Only a small paragraph regarding cross border bus services but maybe we could see something like Huddersfield to Barnsley and/or Sheffield returning. That would be good news.

https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/all-news-and-blogs/three-yorkshire-mayors-unite-under-white-rose-agreement/

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

The way in which county boundaries were reorganised in 1974 was to largely get rid of the problems of having towns and villages split through the following of rivers as boundaries etc. That meant that boundaries were more likely to be in more rural areas, where buses may struggle to be viable and so challenges on who funds services in and across these areas; something exacerbated by cuts to local authority funding.

Good to see some alignment from the three Yorkshire authorities (though why not East Riding??). To my mind, the biggest decline in the last 30 years have been the services from Pontefract and Wakefield to Doncaster. Two firms (Bingley of Kinsley, and South Yorkshire of Pontefract) basically established their businesses on such corridors - the decline can also be ascribed to Arriva Yorkshire...

 

[John HG1]

While this agreement is a good thing, boundaries always create problems and inconsistencies for organisations whereas Joe Public rarely seems to worry. This applies to many circumstances - NHS, schooling, parliamentary constituencies etc. From the providing body's perspective I don't know what a solution might be but an attempt to be less parochial would be a good thing.
Re this agreement, there are probably plenty of possibilities of returning services in theory, but then there are still plenty of other boundaries that need to be dealt with from a passenger perspective.

 

[Steve440]

The way in which county boundaries were reorganised in 1974 was to largely get rid of the problems of having towns and villages split through the following of rivers as boundaries etc. That meant that boundaries were more likely to be in more rural areas, where buses may struggle to be viable and so challenges on who funds services in and across these areas; something exacerbated by cuts to local authority funding.

Good to see some alignment from the three Yorkshire authorities (though why not East Riding??). To my mind, the biggest decline in the last 30 years have been the services from Pontefract and Wakefield to Doncaster. Two firms (Bingley of Kinsley, and South Yorkshire of Pontefract) basically established their businesses on such corridors - the decline can also be ascribed to Arriva Yorkshire...

Apparently East Yorkshire have mayoral elections in May and then they will be invited to join.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

The way in which county boundaries were reorganised in 1974 was to largely get rid of the problems of having towns and villages split through the following of rivers as boundaries etc. That meant that boundaries were more likely to be in more rural areas, where buses may struggle to be viable and so challenges on who funds services in and across these areas; something exacerbated by cuts to local authority funding.

Good to see some alignment from the three Yorkshire authorities (though why not East Riding??). To my mind, the biggest decline in the last 30 years have been the services from Pontefract and Wakefield to Doncaster. Two firms (Bingley of Kinsley, and South Yorkshire of Pontefract) basically established their businesses on such corridors - the decline can also be ascribed to Arriva Yorkshire...

Don't let Stagecoach off the hook... the years of well established routes between Huddersfield and Barnsley under Yorkshire Traction ended on their watch when they pulled out of Huddersfield. Outside of the brief ownership of Waterloo (and the odd service into Wakefield and Leeds) West Yorkshire has always been mercifully free of the Scottish Bigot Company Stagecoach Bus Company.

 

[Mollman]

Don't let Stagecoach off the hook... the years of well established routes between Huddersfield and Barnsley under Yorkshire Traction ended on their watch when they pulled out of Huddersfield. Outside of the brief ownership of Waterloo (and the odd service into Wakefield and Leeds) West Yorkshire has always been mercifully free of the Scottish Bigot Company Stagecoach Bus Company.

Waterloo was always an odd one, Centrebus did manage to improve the fleet but it suffers as not being a money maker for reinvestment.

I would say there are plenty of people who wish they had Stagecoach during the years of underinvestment and cut backs from First when they looked at what Stagecoach was providing in South Yorkshire and Hull.

 

[noddingdonkey]

Seems strange that Greater Manchester hasn't been included in this, given that it borders West and South Yorkshire and has a Labour Mayor with similar interests in publicly owned transport.