KNARESBOROUGH and Starbeck are to be included in the discounted West Yorkshire MetroCard season ticket.
Launched in May this year in Skipton and Harrogate, the season ticket is set to be extended to Knaresborough by the end of the year.
There had been some misunderstanding in Knaresborough about why it was not included in the May extension of the Me
troCard and the suggestion that Harrogate Council needed to have a ‘rethink’.
However, the council is not directly responsible for providing this service and can only persuade Metro and the rail operators to make the changes residents want.
To extend the MetroCard to Knaresborough and Starbeck, Metro and the Rail operators needed to alter their pricing structure to make the MetroCard cheaper than current season tickets.
Successful lobbying by the council has given the green light to this new extension to the scheme.
Coun Don Mackenzie, Harrogate Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning and Transport, said: “The council has always supported the inclusion of Harrogate, Starbeck and Knaresborough in the MetroCard scheme.
“Our persistence paid off first with the extension of the MetroCard to Harrogate and now with the forthcoming extension to Knaresborough.”
He added: “Although this is good news we still have more work to do. We are asking for buses to be included in the scheme and also want to see more frequent trains and better rolling stock.”
