AREAS of Ryedale remain without a bus service after a local operator announced it will no longer be able to fulfill its contract with North Yorkshire County Council.

Stephensons of Easingwold informed the authority on Friday night that it “will not be in a position to operate its county council contracts”, which includes 27 school bus services for 900 secondary and primary pupils entitled to free school transport in the Ryedale, Harrogate and Hambleton districts.

The company operated both school and local bus services under contract to the county council, as well as providing a commercial bus network that was not subsidised by the council.

The council worked through the weekend to put in place arrangements to cover all of these school transport contracts on an emergency basis using other local operators.

However, some services have been lost on various routes until the council can secure replacements. These include the Malton and Norton town service, Malton to Hovingham and Malton to Castle Howard.

Norton county councillor Keane Duncan said he has contacted County Hall transport chiefs to request emergency funding for a replacement service for Malton and Norton.

Cllr Duncan said: “This news comes as a big shock for users of a very popular service. The 193 is a vital link between the towns and lots of people rely on it on a daily basis.

“Sadly, we have no update yet about its future. This has left people with no means to reach the shops and appointments at the hospital.

“The cost of taxis is a cost they simply can’t foot in the long term, and I really hope this service can get back up and running as soon as possible.

“While the service did not previously receive any subsidies from the county council, I have asked if the passenger transport team can assist in funding a replacement on an interim-only basis.”

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, North Yorkshire’s executive member for integrated passenger transport, said: “We wish to assure members of the public that our staff are very aware of the impact the sudden loss of transport services can have on people’s lives and that we are doing all we can to minimise disruption and to restore services as swiftly as possible.”

A post on the bus company’s Facebook page points customers to the council website and says queries should be taken up with the new operators.

For more information about the changes, go to northyorks.gov.uk/transportnews