35 up for tender

There is a lengthy report on the City of York Council regarding tendered bus services in the city, which is to be presented to the cabinet member for transport on Tuesday. One of the affected services is the Transdev York operated 35 from York to Holme on Spalding Moor. The service is tendered by City of York Council, but also receives funding from North Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire Councils.

The report proposes the 35 is retendered, though the actual reason for retendering is not specifically stated. It maybe simply that the current tender has expired? In 2012 the subsidy per passenger was 58p (a slight improvement on the previous year) with 14 passengers travelling per bus hour. It is expected annual costs will however increase with the new tender.

The 35 currently operates every two hours to Monday to Saturday (some journeys a variation X35), along with extra weekday peak time journeys and a limited Friday and Saturday evening service between York and North Duffield. It is proposed that the tender will be issued based on "broadly" the current timetable, although East Riding of Yorkshire Council are looking at extending the service to Market Weighton, I guess by merging it with the EYMS operated 34, that links Holme upon Spalding Moor to Market Weighton every hour Monday to Saturday mornings and early afternoon. Any Market Weighton extension to the 35 would be East Riding of Yorkshire Council funded. An all-day Market Weighton extension could offer better connections to Beverley and Hull from Holme upon Spalding Moor, for example for commuting, as well as offering 6 day a week Bubwith to Market Weighton links.

Between 2006 and 2008 the 35 had been run commercially as the 18 by First York - and the EYMS operated Sunday service between York and Holme on Spalding Moor remains numbered 18A.

Details of how associated service 36 between Elvington and York may or may not be impacted are not given in the City of York Council report.