York Pullman take on Tuesday Pocklington Services

East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) tendered service 195 between Allerthorpe and Pocklington passed from EYMS to York Pullman from Tuesday 8th May. En-route it serves the villages of Thornton, Bielby, Everingham, Seaton Ross, Melbourne, Sutton on Derwent and Newton on Derwent.

The 195 had operated on Tuesdays and Thursdays until this point, with one journey in each direction providing a shopping link into Pocklington, and on Thursdays a connection into the 196 at Sutton on Derwent or Newton on Derwent, for travel into York. However with the change of operator the Thursday service is cancelled. The Tuesday service is retimed to leave Allerthorpe at 1015, rather than 0930, returning from Pocklington at 1315 rather than 1235.

I guess the Thursday service was ended to fund replacements for commercial services given up by EYMS, and to cover any higher costs on retender for subsidised services. No community is left unserved by this change either. In addition to the 195, Sutton on Derwent has 'all day' services into York six days a week on the 36/X36/196, Newton on Derwent has a 'shopper' service into York on the Thursday 196, as does Melbourne on a Saturday with the 36. Whilst not much use for shopping, Bielby, Everingham, Seaton Ross and Melbourne also have the weekday peak X36 into York.

However this is still a disappointing change, especially when compared to the pre-April 2017 service that provided most of the villages with 'shopper' services to York and/or Pocklington 4 days a week. It is also perhaps worth questioning why the service runs Allerthorpe-Newton on Derwent-Pocklington as opposed to Newton on Derwent-Allerthorpe-Pocklington, now that York connections are not a consideration. Allerthorpe to Pocklington direct used to take 9 minutes, the current route takes 70 minutes. Whilst journey times from Newton on Derwent, Sutton on Derwent and Melbourne would be increased if the route was revised in this way, the increase would be nowhere near as drastic, and these are the three villages with alternative 'shopping' services.

At the same time Tuesday only ERYC tendered service 199 from Huggate to Pocklington via Warter Nunburnholme, Burnby and Hayton also passed from EYMS to York Pullman. One journey continues to operate each way, but retimed to leave Huggate at 0930 rather than 0920, and Pocklington at 1145 rather than 1125. The 195 and 199 can now be operated by the same vehicle.