York is better by bus this half term

City of York Council is encouraging everyone to travel by bus this half term, and is encouraging families to take up the new, lower and free fares.

The new fares, which were first introduced in September 2023, have been extended and updated in time for half term. Each subsidy will run until December 2024, to help families make the switch to buses in an affordable way.

The revised fares are made up of:

• A £1 single fare for unaccompanied 5-16 year olds, which was introduced in September, has been extended to include 16-18 year olds (up to day before their 19th birthday)
• Up to three passengers under the age of 16 accompanied by an adult (whether fare paying or not – eg grandparents using concessionary pass) are free
• The All York Young Person’s Day ticket has been extended to include 17-18 year olds, and is £2.50, and now valid at all times of day
• A new All York Young Person’s Weekly ticket, applicable to 5-18 year olds and priced at £12
• All of the above will run until December 2024. Journeys need to start & finish within the CYC boundary.

Councillor Pete Kilbane, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Economy and Transport at City of York Council, said:

“As we saw at Christmas, York quite rightly remains hugely popular for family activities in the school holidays.

"But our road network is simply not designed for the volume of cars driving in to the city centre, so we’d encourage as many people as possible to go by bus this half term. Our six Park and Ride sites offer a brilliant way to park for free and get quick, affordable access in to town; or with the new young persons’ day ticket, why not start your journey in your own village and start your journey in by bus?”

The subsidy to pay for the fare reductions comes from York’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) – a £17.5m fund from central government which we are using to improve and upgrade the whole network.

Paul Turner of the Enhanced Partnership Ticketing Group, the group leading delivery of the BSIP Youth Fares project, said,

“We first introduced lower fares for young people in September 2023, and it’s proved a huge success. We’re delighted to now be extending this to older teenagers, giving them greater flexibility in their daily lives and studies, to get wherever they need to go. We’ve also updated the rules so that non-fare paying adults, for example grandparents using a concessionary pass, can take advantage of the offer and get up to three children on board for free”.

Guy Opperman, Minister for Roads and Local Transport at the Department for Transport, said:

“Local people deserve a modern, reliable, and affordable public transport system and I'm delighted to have worked alongside the local council and local MPs to give City of York Council over £17 million to boost its bus services.          

“Part of our £2 billion to improve bus services in England, this is a fantastic result for young people across York, who will be now be able to save money while getting around by bus for less, all the way to December this year.”