Commercial and supported services

Bus services in York may be commercial, or partly supported by the council.

• Commercial bus services
• Supported bus services
• Finding out if a service is commercial or supported

Commercial bus services

Most bus services in York are operated commercially by independent companies, some of which are part of larger groups.

Bus companies are free to decide how, where and when they will run any services that will provide a financial return. This includes the route, stops, timetables and fares.

If you have a query, comment or complaint regarding these services you should in the first instance contact the relevant bus operator.

Should you then wish to take the matter further, you can contact Bus Users UK, the national body responsible for representing bus passenger interests.

Licensing and registration of bus services is the responsibility of the Traffic Commissioners.

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Supported bus services

Where bus companies are unable to provide a service commercially, the council can provide financial support to operators willing to run the route on its behalf.

In these cases, the council generally sets the route, stops and timetable, monitoring the performance of each service to ensure that the city of York receives the best value for money from its public transport expenditure.

As with commercial services, queries or complaints about the day-to-day operation of these routes should be addressed to the bus operator running the service. Comments regarding the setting of timetables and routes should be directed to City of York Council.

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Finding out if a service is commercial or supported

The list of bus services on our timetables page gives an indication of whether each service is commercial or supported by a local transport authority.

In some cases, certain parts of a bus service are commercial, with the remainder of the journeys supported.

Bus operators are encouraged to show on their timetables which journeys are operated with support.

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