Wow! What a reaction to All Aboard! The Country Bus on Bank Holiday Monday (Watch this, TV and radio, G2, 29 August). Viewing figures from ratings agency overnights.tv show that at its peak 973,000 people were watching the BBC4 programme, the latest slow travel programme to hit our screens. Nearly a million viewers! Great credit must go to The Garden Productions Ltd for producing what must be one of the best films ever made about the Dales landscape and capturing it so perfectly in the late spring sunshine.
But who is behind the Northern Dalesman bus service? Well, it’s the Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company – a volunteer-run subsidiary of the Yorkshire Dales Society, a registered charity. It is a social enterprise which has been managing the Dales Bus network of bus services in the Yorkshire Dales area since 2007. The directors plan, manage and market the network themselves, and competitively tender the operation of the buses to reputable local companies.
About 14 different services run during the summer months, including the Northern Dalesman, Ingleborough Pony and Nidderdale Rambler; and about five services all year round, including the Yorkshire Dalesman, the Wensleydale Flyer and the Cravenlink.
The economics of rural bus operation are such that on most services the income from ticket sales and the reimbursement rates for concessionary pass users is insufficient to cover operating costs. Directors have to work hard to secure funding support from organisations, businesses and individuals to keep the network running.
There is currently an urgent appeal for funding for their 856 Wensleydale Flyer winter service, which runs between Hawes, Leyburn and Northallerton, providing the only Sunday bus link in the area. If new funding cannot be secured, then sadly the service will end in October, leaving local residents isolated and denying potential visitors access to the area.
The company is also seeking offers of funding for summer 2017 and beyond to secure the Dales Bus network, including the Northern Dalesman service featured in the programme. Further information about the Northern Dalesman and the DalesBus network can be found at www.dalesbus.org/thecountrybus. Small donations can also be made on the website.
Jan Stallworthy
Ilkely, West Yorkshire
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