YUSU has condemned moves by the First Group bus company to stop providing a service to the Heslington East campus.
The number 4 bus route, which previously went from Heslington East into York City Centre via the Hes West campus, will now circle the science park before returning to the city centre. The 44 UniBus service, run by Transdev, will continue to serve the Heslington East campus as well as the new York Sports Village from November.
YUSU President Kallum Taylor lambasted the decision, made without any consultation to YUSU or University, in a statement on the YUSU website – calling it “a double slap in the face for York students.”
“Not only are they scrapping the free service between our campuses, they’re also putting their now spare resources into a route between Heslington West and the City, which could take custom away from UniBus and erode the wider extra services and deals it offers students.”
First has been criticised for changing the route in order to ‘beat’ UniBus services to the popular bus stops. First claims it will up the number 4’s frequency to every 7-8 minutes, seen as an effort to undermine the commercial viability of the UniBus.
“First Buses […] are obviously only interested in profiting from our students whilst trying to kill off the company that actively cares for our students, without giving anything in return.”
“I’ll be encouraging as many students as possible to avoid First and support UniBus, bearing in mind the other services at risk, even if that means waiting a couple of minutes rather than getting the next bus that arrives.”
The decision by First comes in the light of the recent building of the new Langwith College and the York Sport Centre on the Hes East campus, meaning the free ‘campus hopper’ service will probably be used by hundreds more students in the next academic year.
A spokesperson for First however, in a statement to Vision, has defended the move.
“Unlike Transdev, the other bus operator to the University, First does not receive a financial subsidy from the University to provide free travel for students within the University campus to Heslington East and does not have access to the private road that runs into the Heslington East campus.”
“Therefore, as the only operator running a fully commercial service, we have to make commercially based decisions on how we can provide a bus service to this area.”
Cheers for the write up, Harry.
If can I add anything though, it’s that this isn’t just a rant over First Transport’s aggressive business plan here; that’s almost comprehendable once you remove any consideration for the potential customer.
It’s all the successful extras we’ve now established which are now at risk. The Clubbers’ Bus, the UB1 Shuttle, and the free Hes West – Hes East – Sports Village journey itself… Not only are these additional ‘extras’, they’re great means to link up the off shoots of our campus (Halifax for example) and keeping East and West tight.
The Clubbers’ Bus also, a service that helps get the students home safe, whilst minimalising any potential neighborhood disruption.
Being the same price – currently – I’d urge students to choose the UniBus #44 over the #4 to protect these other services over the long term.
Or, students could just walk.
Students on the new campus were faced with a choice over which bus to get into town. This would have lead to a roughly equal share of sales between the two companies (perhaps with the #4 taking more sales as it is closer to Badger Hill and Osbaldwick?) Now however, a student on Hes East is forced to give their money to Unibus (assuming they’re not stopping off at main campus first).
Therefore, I don’t quite understand how this move by First will “undermine the commercial viability of the UniBus”? Sure, First will take custom from the #44 on Hes West (Unibus could always step up their service to compete!) but it gives Unibus the “monopoly” of Hes East!
However, I completely agree with YUSU’s criticism of this move and I will not be taking the #4 to town in the future.
Simple solution. If you disagree with their business plan, don’t give them your custom. If so many feel the way you do the market will sort the problem. Just use the other bus. If the concern is around the sports centre, walk. It is a 5-10 minute walk at most. Needing a bus to go work out is like driving to a gym, it kind of defeats the object if it isn’t far
Andrew, are you roadrunner? I consider myself a pretty speedy walker but it took me a good 20 minutes to get to the sports village from the library and that was at pace. It took nearlly 5 minutes just to get to Langwith? I’ll be using my bike mainly but will make a point of only getting the 44 bus from now on.
Whoops. Obviously that should be 5 minutes to Langwith coming back from the sports village.
With 9k tuition fees why doesn’t the uni just pay First a subsidy or pay for more Unibuses? With half the service and at least double the students I personally can’t wait to go back
Maybe we should just 4-get about First altogether…
@Derp – The £9k tuition fee hike’s not a significant increase in income for the university, as far as I’m aware. The reason it’s been hiked so ridiculously’s the sweeping cuts to the rest of the education budget- it’s just filling in the void left.
“First Buses […] are obviously only interested in profiting from our students whilst trying to kill off the company that actively cares for our students, without giving anything in return.”
Yes, they are. That’s their mission and their responsibility towards shareholders. They are not a non-profit; they are not supposed to care for students, except inasmuch as hotels are supposed to care for the comfort of their guests. If you don’t believe you are getting, then just don’t use their buses, but do not try to demonise them. I would even understand it if you ranted about their high prices; but complaining that they no longer provide a free service is ridiculous.
Secondly, Kallum, the fact that you established extras based on your belief that there would be free buses is no-one’s fault but your own. Is every company in the world supposed to check how people have planned their lives based on their business plans, before they change these plans?
@Tsk
Similarly, the job of the President of a Student Union is to look after students, whom their responsibility is of course towards. For Kallum to have ignored the removal of a free vital student service would also have been ridiculous. It is not the President’s job to care about the commercial viability of private companies and their shareholders…
The President is well within his remit to slam any company that puts fantastic student services at risk, regardless of the reason.
You might not be from one of the “off shoots of our campus” Kallaum but incase you haven’t noticed Halifax putting in a fantastic performance in virtually all sports and it having a far greater intake than most colleges you might want to reconsider.
Who elected a YUSU President who considers an entire college an “off shoots of our campus”? He’s barely been in the job, no students are back and already making mistakes. Come to think of it Fairfax House is really just an off shoot of our campus… we should probably disregard anyone placed in Fairfax House as part of our SU seeing as its even further away!
@Halifax
He was probaby just speaking geographically? Hardly anything anti-Halifax there….. Unless you want to have a go at him for choosing the wrong word to go about describing that, in which case that debate will go on forever. UB1, key to Halifaxis at threat with these changes and at least they’re noticing that.
@Ladham
The job of the president, in my view, is to support and help students, not to whine about private enterprise. Slamming First does not achieve anything, and it is not his place to do it.
Of course, he has the right to do so, everyone has the right to free speech. But it is still ridiculous.
Errr… what about when private enterprise puts a service that supports and helps students at risk?
@halifax far greater intake? Not out of choice, you end up with the pissed of kids who missed out on Derwent/James/Vanbrugh
@tsk he can’t talk about priivate enterprises? Because they don’t effect students? I must disagree, in factbid like him to be concerned about buses, taxis, clubs, landlords etc because I think they may effect students lives? Don’t quote me on that though …