1.

Each candidate was given three minutes to introduce themselves and give us their views on EP/EP+/franchising and also to say whether they would commit to attending meetings with the people involved.

You can see what David Skaith said by clicking on the play button on the right.

2.

When and where was the last bus journey that you made?

You can see what David said by clicking on the play button on the right.

3.

Jonathan Tyler’s report “Network York and North Yorkshire: connecting people and places” sets out a vision for an ambitious new approach to public transport. Would you commission an experiment on one key route offering frequent, day-long and every-day services, on high-quality buses at attractive fares? If the answer is yes, what kind of timescale would you envisage for this?

You can see what David said by clicking on the play button on the right.

4.

What measures do you propose to reduce congestion in York and allow improved bus journey times and reliability?

You can see what David said by clicking on the play button on the right.

5.

How will introducing free car parking in York affect congestion, local bus journeys, Park & Ride usage and finance?

You can see what David said by clicking on the play button on the right.

6.

Given that CYC – as a result of obtaining BSIP funding – have committed to increasing bus passenger numbers by 50% over the next few years, will you as Mayor require a monthly analysis of passenger numbers, with trends and comparisons to previous years, to be publicly available so that progress towards this goal can be see by all? How will this information be shared?

You can see what David said by clicking on the play button on the right.

7.

In North Yorkshire as a whole, according to a national local government survey, bus service mileage has been cut by around 49% and services by over 40%. An example of this is Selby where, apart from the Selby-York routes, a number of services have been cut. For example the last bus from Pontefract to Selby is circa 3 p.m. and evening and Sunday services have been cut out. How does this reconcile with increasing the use of public transport?

You can see what David said by clicking on the play button on the right.

8.

The Selby Gateway Scheme, with improvements to the town centre, rail station and bus station and better signage and information between the bus and rail stations has been mired in North Yorkshire Council bureaucracy since the formation of North Yorkshire Council despite having previously been agreed by the then District Council. What will you do to ensure that the scheme goes ahead?

You can see what David said by clicking on the play button on the right.

9.

Will the combined authority develop a single tracking system for its buses? The system used by York is not flexible enough to reflect short-term changes such as diversions due to road works etc. How will you, as mayor, tackle inaccuracies and possible incompatibility with current IT systems?

You can see what David said by clicking on the play button on the right.

10.

Will you commit to ensuring that accurate printed information is readily available for passengers on all routes?

You can see what David said by clicking on the play button on the right.

11.

The City of York BSIP funding includes significant funds for the development of the Park and Ride hubs but to date little information is available as to what is envisaged. How would you see the Park and Ride hubs developing?

You can see what David said by clicking on the play button on the right.

12.

If the outer ring road is dualled, what plans would the candidates have to introduce bus lanes to enable buses to operate between the Park and Rides on the outer ring road and to ensure that radial bus routes in and out of the city are not adversely affected?

You can see what David said by clicking on the play button on the right.

13.

The MP for Thirsk and Malton recently pointed out the huge cost of dualling the (A64) road to Malton – “somewhere north of £500 million”. (He also said it was a pipedream) We understand that there is a suggestion that, even though the Mayor will not be responsible for this road, £50 million should be taken from the budget and given back to central government to help with the cost. How could this spending be justified or are there other solutions to traffic congestion?

You can see what David said by clicking on the play button on the right.