Following the insolvency of Utopia Coaches Ltd, ConneXions Buses has been in negotiations with North Yorkshire County Council and confirm that it will be operating routes 492, 493 and 494 from Tuesday 29 August 2017.
- ConneXions Buses operates the second highest number of public bus services in North Yorkshire, and are a family owned local business trading for 15 years.
These routes run between Sherburn-in-Elmet and Tadcaster, and include the villages of Barkston Ash, Church Fenton, Ulleskelf, Saxton and Towton.
The contract awarded is an interim one until October, however both Connexions and NYCC will be using that time to evaluate the service and consider what refinements may be possible.
Passengers in Sherburn-in-Elmet and the villages are able to access our existing ‘Calcaria ConneXion’ X70 Tadcaster to Wetherby and Harrogate bus with one simple change in Tadcaster and a through fare from Sherburn to Harrogate of £7.50 return.
Other local fares will remain at the level set by Utopia and agreed with NYCC. Holders of English National Concessionary Travel passes will continue to receive free travel from 9am (at any time on Saturday) and half fare before 9am weekdays.
Speaking about the new route, Craig Temple, Managing Director of ConneXions Buses said:
We are pleased to be able to work with the affected communities and with NYCC to deliver replacement transport.
I am also pleased to say that we have interviewed a number of former Utopia staff, and HR processes are already underway to on-board the successful people as soon as possible.
Timetables for the new journeys will be online at www.connexionsbuses.com shortly, and ConneXions say theylook forward to welcoming passengers both existing and new. Public telephone queries to 01423 339600. From early September, journeys will be trackable in the ConneXions Buses app, on android and apple.
