York has many transport challenges. The main one is that huge volumes of car and lorry traffic are permitted to drive right into the centre of the historic, narrowly streeted city.
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| Traffic on Bootham, York, with York Minster in the distance (image from Wikimedia Commons) |
Park and Ride could work in principle, but doesn't. A big part of this is that the bus tickets are ridiculously pricy. £3.60 for a standard return means that 4 adults in a car will cough up £14.40 to get the bus. As long as you're staying for fewer than 5 hours, it's cheaper just to park in town.
And of course, the buses and the cars use the same roads, so there's congestion either way.
So, I propose a new model, involving Viking boats. It will be called Park & Raid.
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| Commuter travel, AD 1066 (Image from Wikimedia Commons). |
Until the late 19th Century, the River Ouse was one of York's main highways. Now it is seen pretty much as a decorative water feature, most prominent in the winter, when it floods. (Join our York Water Walk if you want to hear more about this sort of thing.)
However, a far-sighted administration should be seeing it as a transport route again. And a long-sighted administration should incorporate the popularity of Jorvik, and giving a Norse flavour to things.
Water taxis have been mentioned in the current discussions around the city's Local Transport Plan. You can offer your thoughts on the consultation here (until February 4th 2024).
If you want to make people use a transport system, though, not only must it be good value, it must also be appealing. And what could be more appealing than leaving your car on the edge of town in order to jump onto a Viking boat that sails you serenely into the heart of town?
You could do it from Rawcliffe Landing. You could probably do it from Bishopthorpe Marina. Heck, chuck a Beluga Boat into the mix and you can offer Naburn as a location too!
All we need is a song now...
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