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| The Northern Dalesman at Reeth |
In previous years there have been two routes linking the Lancaster district with the Yorkshire Dales, operating on Sundays and Public Holidays between May and September. However, this year a combination of factors means that Dales Bus is unable to run them.
Last year's operation on Service 881 (Malham Shuttle), linking Lancaster with Malham Tarn and Malham village, which was always the weaker of the two routes, was poorly patronised to such an extent that Dales Bus feels its operation cannot be justified in 2023.
Service 830 (The Northern Dalesman) that ran to Hawes, Swaledale and Richmond has always relied on a healthy contingent of passengers joining from the train at Ribblehead to make it viable. This summer, the train that provides the return connection for passengers travelling from West Yorkshire is not operating and Northern Railway has not agreed to any of the suggested alternatives made by Dales Bus to provide the link. Dales Bus receives no funding from Lancashire or North Yorkshire Councils and much of the external funding it did receive for the Northern Dalesman was predicated on the train connection at Ribblehead. Without this funding and without the fares income from the train passengers service 830 is simply unaffordable.
Regular passengers from Lancaster, including a number of Bus Users' Group members, will be sorely disappointed, but Dales Bus is hopeful that the rail connection and the funding can be restored next year and the service will run again.
