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| Dales Bus service 830 in Muker |
Dales Bus summer Sunday services in the Yorkshire Dales have been "indefinitely postponed" and in some cases cancelled completely for 2020, following government announcements on the need for "social distancing" and to avoid unnecessary travel as well as doubts over the connecting Dales Rail services.
Three services were due to operate from Lancaster this year.
- Service 830 "The Northern Dalesman" to Ingleton, Hawes, Swaledale and Richmond
- Service 881 "Malham Dalesman" from Morecambe via Lancaster and the Trough of Bowland to Settle and Malham
- and a new service 832 from Lancaster to Kirkby Lonsdale, Sedbergh, Kirkby Stephen, Nateby, Keld, Muker and Swaledale to Richmond.
The 830 and 881 fall into the "indefinitely postponed" category so may run later in the year, but the 832 will not now run in 2020.
Others to Follow?
The Coronavirus epidemic is taking its toll on bus services across the country as people are asked to work at home and not make unnecessary journeys. London Buses is moving to a Saturday timetable on Mondays to Fridays and bus operators in Bristol, Manchester and West Yorkshire have either announced service reductions or are expected to do so. The Traffic Commissioners - the industry regulator - has suspended its rule that requires a seventy-day notice period of changes to allow bus operators to react to the rapidly changing situation.
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| Will there be queues like this for the 555 this summer? |
There has been no announcement so far from Stagecoach, which continues to advertise its enhanced summer timetables throughout the Lake District, although the BUG understands that the company is urgently reviewing its position. The suspension of face-to-face teaching at local Universities will also have an impact on student travel.
Our other local operator, Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire, is due to re-introduce a Sunday timetable on its Lancaster to Skipton services at Easter, which although not officially part of Dales Bus are closely linked to the Dales Bus network that would have been in place. We understand that this might not now happen, but there has as yet been no annoucement from the company.
Appeal for Help
Airlines and train operators have been quick to ask for government assistance and now the bus industry is asking for £1 Billion of support to replace income that has been lost following government requests for people not to travel. There have been immediate falls of 20% or more in passenger numbers throughout the country with the situation expected to worsen over time. The BUG agrees that it is essential that the bus industry recieves this help to ensure that any service reductions are only temporary and that normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.
