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Crunch talks on cheap rail fares
4:20pm Monday 12th January 2009
Comments (8)CHEAPER train fares between North and West Yorkshire are on their way, with an extension of the Metrocard discount travel system.
Leeds City Region – a partnership of 11 local authorities including York, Selby, Harrogate and North Yorkshire – will meet this week to discuss progress on plans to extend the West Yorkshire subsidised travel scheme to parts of North Yorkshire.
The partnership plans to extend Metrocard – which allows passengers to buy discounted weekly or monthly travel passes – to Harrogate and Skipton in May as a pilot, before hopefully rolling the scheme out to York and Selby.
In a report to the city region’s leaders’ board last month, officers said: “It is the intention to introduce a product in May 2009 for the Harrogate and Skipton rail lines and to extend coverage to York and Selby in due course.”
The plans will be on the agenda on Thursday at a meeting of the city region transport panel.
It is understood discussions are still under way with rail operators to finalise details and prices for the new Metrocard zones.
There are currently five differentially-priced zones across West Yorkshire. A zone one Metrocard allows unlimited travel within the centre of Leeds and surrounding suburbs, while a zone five card allows unlimited travel across the whole county.
The North Yorkshire extension would initially see two further zones added.
Although the Metrocard is valid for train and bus travel, the Harrogate and Skipton pilot will only apply to rail services.
Coun Steve Galloway, City of York Council’s executive member for city strategy, welcomed the progress.
“I am pleased to see that a trial of a system which will see the Metrocard made available for some rail services outside West Yorkshire will start in late spring,” he said.
“If the trial is successful, then I know that many in York would want to see its availability extended to those living in the city.”
He also welcomed the trial in South Yorkshire of a cashless payments card, where users load up prepay cards that are swiped when getting on or off public transport.
“In the longer term, I also look forward to the introduction of a cashless payments card similar to the Oyster card now available in London,” he said.
“Trials of the Yorkshire version – called Yorcard – are currently taking place in South Yorkshire. Its extension to York will allow travellers to pay electronically for journeys on buses and trains without having to worry about having the right change available.”
Your Say YourYork Press
pedalling paul , York says...
5:53pm Mon 12 Jan 09
flutterby, says...
8:08pm Mon 12 Jan 09
Guy Fawkes, York says...
9:13pm Mon 12 Jan 09
Vlad The Impaler, Transylvania says...
11:23pm Mon 12 Jan 09
pedalling paul wrote:The service does run from Leeds to York via Harrogate hourly & has done for as long as I can remember. The only exception to this is possibly on Sundays. Do you actually read the ample info provided at train stations or do you just want to gripe about the "poor" service provided by the rail industry? Funny how someone who names themselves as "pedalling" complains about public transport. If you don't like it then pedal & keep your **** bike off the train to allow someone else to have a seat.
It would also be helpful if train services from Leeds which penetrate beyond the West Yorkshire Metro boundary, could be increased in frequency. For example Leeds - Harogate - Knaresborough runs hourly, but only half these trains continue to York.
mystic_genius, Acomb says...
8:10am Tue 13 Jan 09
what I never understood is why "Easy Trains" hasn't been set up yet.
Surely one of the budget airline companies could expand into budget trains. After all, most train rides I've been on are in sardine class, with 400,000 people occupying a space clearly only big enough for 6 people, it's a joke.
If they can set up an airline, surely a train would be a walk in the park...and then everyone could get everywhere for a quid, rather than the extortionate amounts train companies usually charge - £10 to leeds is ridiculous - I can fly to Rome for less than that!!
root-two, York says...
10:05am Tue 13 Jan 09
pedalling paul wrote:
It would also be helpful if train services from Leeds which penetrate beyond the West Yorkshire Metro boundary, could be increased in frequency. For example Leeds - Harogate - Knaresborough runs hourly, but only half these trains continue to York. The service does run from Leeds to York via Harrogate hourly & has done for as long as I can remember. The only exception to this is possibly on Sundays. Do you actually read the ample info provided at train stations or do you just want to gripe about the Have you tried riding into the centre of Leeds from York? Only recommended if you've had your adrenal glands removed - however, my usual route to Harrogate/Knaresboro
ugh is very nice indeed.
Although, IMO, Paul talks a lot of rubbish he's right on the money with regards to the train services, or lack thereof - if memory serves, he used to work in the rail industry so it's fair to say that he does know what he's talking about. Plus, he's absolutely right - the train services are cr4p.
Bikes taking up seats on trains? Fail - thanks for playing. In most modern DMUs bikes either have a dedicated compartment or live in the luggage rack. The exception is the Class 14x units which usually do York-Harrogate - in these there's a double seat near the door which folds up to allow additional bike/luggage space.
Personally, I'd like to see the Metrocard system extended to North Yorkshire - it'd be very useful to be able to hop on the Coastliner to Leeds (train too expensive, parking too much hassle) and then use the same card/ticket on the city centre services in Leeds.
However, Mr.Fawkes is spot on when he says the train companies won't go for it - too much potential for them to lose money; the shareholders won't stand for it, you know ...
Rantin Reg, Selby says...
12:38pm Tue 13 Jan 09
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Swiss, says...
5:40pm Mon 12 Jan 09