Thursday 28 May 2015

a ticketing conundrum: the London Luton airport problem on its way to Church Fenton

Congratulations to Makin Enterprises on their recent acquisition of Church Fenton. Sadly, I must tell a story of incompetence at its best (down south) that we don't want to have replicated here. London airports are: London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London City, London Luton and London Stansted, right? How many of these can you travel to by train using an oystercard, contactless debit card or London travelcard? Ah yes, none of them. What happens if you try? A penalty fare at best, and a criminal prosecution at worst. This issue is partly the fault of the airport authorities and partly the fault of the railway companies. I am anxious that such bureaucracy doesn't manifest itself at Church Fenton. Sustainable travel will be a key facet of any aspiring new airport, and this means making it simple for passengers to get there. The name 'Leeds East Airport' I am in two minds about. On the one hand it is silly, as it isn't in Leeds. On the other, it is so close that the name makes sense, and it is in a much more sensible place than Yeadon. It is also in the LS24 postcode area. The new owners have doubtless considered York Airport, Selby Airport and London Church Fenton Airport and discounted those. They have also bought a URL: http://www.leedseastairport.co.uk/ We must therefore call upon our rail/bus partners to ensure their systems do not create a 'Luton trap' for people. The transport authority for west yorks is the WY Combined Authority, which includes the city of York. The WYCA is also responsible for the Leeds City Region LEP (local enterprise partnership). The Leeds City Region stretches further, and is WY plus Skipton, Harrogate, York, Selby and Barnsley. On the assumption that the transport responsibility is unlikely to change anytime soon, I would call upon the WYCA to create a zone 8 (for Ulleskelf, Church Fenton and Sherburn stations) thereby assuring that the M-Card (in the pay as you go version that is to launch imminently) is valid to our new airport by train and bus. As and when scheduled and charter flights start, let's also see more trains call at Sherburn: the Bradford-Leeds-Micklefield-York service could easily call hourly instead of two hourly. The service from Selby and Hull could go likewise. The line south to Pontefract, Rotherham and Sheffield could also receive many more trains if the will was there. The time to get additional ticketing principles and enhanced minimum service written into the contracts for the new operators is now. Re ticket zones, various bits of WY are in zones 1 to 5. Harrogate is 6, Skipton is 7. I am assuming that York Poppleton and Haxby will become a new zone. This could leave Church Fenton bereft of ITSO capabilities