City of York Councillors will be asked to approve plans for First York to continue to operate the city's Park & Ride service for five more years from spring next year after it came out top in the tender exercise to take the service forward.

Members of City of York Council's Executive will be asked to approve the main details of the contract at a meeting later this month (23 October).

First York has successfully provided the Park & Ride service for the city since 1995. The service is a key element of the city's transport system and is currently transporting over 4 million passengers a year.

The new contract will provide a even more efficient and environmentally and customer friendly service.

First York's bid came out ahead of suppliers Veolia and Go North East, after being assessed on:
- fares
- quality of service
- emission standards
- licence fee to the council

The contract will see an improved service with a fleet of 30 new articulated and rigid Euro EEV low emission compliant vehicles (four more vehicles than present), being used on all the Park & Ride routes for the first time. The EEV standard is the most stringent European emission standard currently available for Heavy Duty Vehicles, bringing reductions of up to 80 per cent in Nitrogen Oxide, Methane, Carbon Monoxide and Particulates compared to the existing vehicles.

Other improvements, recommended for members to approve, include constructing a small office at the Designer Outlet site, trialling the appointment of a City Centre supervisor to manage some of the busiest Park & Ride stops, and extending the Sunday operating hours to 9.30am-6pm.

It is proposed that fares increase to £2.20 return, the first standard fare change since August 2005, and increasing the licence fee to the council to allow improvements to the service to be funded.