YUSU President Kallum Taylor has announced that, after extensive lobbying by YUSU, UniBus have agreed to increase their services to Hes East from the start of Spring Term.
From January, the frequency of buses on the 44 route will be increased from every 10 minutes to every 7/8 during the daytime.
Transdev York have said that they “are pleased to announce that they have redesigned the service to deliver the following benefits:
Monday to Friday – A 7/8 minute frequency between York Sport Village – Heslington
East – University – Rail Station, between 0800 – 1800.
• Saturday – A 10 minute frequency from 1000, and a 7/8 minute frequency between
1000 – 1800.
• Sunday – An improved service, starting at 0830, and providing a 15 minute frequency
between 1100 – 1900.
• Free Student and Staff Travel between York Sport Village – Heslington East –
University Campus stops during all hours of operation.
• All services operated by a dedicated, easily recognisable fleet of buses, fully
compliant with Disability Discrimination requirements.
• Easy Ticketing and SmartCard options.”
Since First Buses dropped the Hes East section of the Number 4 route, the Unibus 44 and UB1 services have been struggling to cope with the increased numbers of students who live and study on Hes East. Responding to the complaints of students, Taylor has been lobbying UniBus management firm Transdev to improve their service as a matter of urgency.
Initially, extra UB1 provision was allocated at peak times, but Taylor says this hasn’t prevented congestion problems:
“I’ve been talking to loads of unhappy students on Hes East recently. There’s often large numbers of students trying to get to and from Hes East who are turned away by buses that are already full. For residents of Goodricke and Langwith colleges who have lectures on Hes West, and for other students who study on Hes East, this is completely unacceptable.
“I’ve made it very clear to UniBus that they need to up their game, and invest in improved services if they want to keep the support of YUSU. I’m very happy that our campaigning has paid off, and I’m confident that all the problems will be sorted by next term.”
Langwith College Chair Jack Baker praised the work of Taylor and the decision by Transdev: “Since the start of term staff and students have been struggling to get between the campuses. The increased frequency of the bus service is great news for everyone on Hes East.”
Dennis Hajdukiewicz, Veolia Transdev’s Head of UK Performance commented: “Transdev York were recently recognised as Runners-Up in the UK Bus Awards for their partnership approach with The University of York and ‘Putting Passengers First’. Today’s announcement is a further demonstration of this partnership approach, and will give the students and staff of The University of York a public transport service unsurpassed by any university throughout the UK.