OPINION: Bus riding home for Christmas - Alex Hornby, Harrogate Bus Company

As we ambitiously looked to recover following the Covid-induced reduction of customers, we then did not foresee the employment shortages affecting our industry right across the UK, alongside those in retail, hospitality and - well, quite a lot else really.

We’ve managed to rescue our customer numbers to around 82% of what they were in 2019 and for that we are all eternally grateful to those who have stuck with us and our hard working team who make the buses happen every day.

This is against many other challenges. Financial support for our industry at both local and national levels aren’t near what we all expected to enable us to set about with for a faster reintroduction of full timetables and expansion of new initiatives to help drive further increases in bus usage.

Traffic congestion - the biggest enemy of reliable bus operation - has increased to beyond pre-Covid levels and costs are rising in all aspects of the business.

And now we have to manage the near impossible-to-manage issue of face coverings being mandatory on buses and other public settings too. Yes, there’s plenty to contend with in the in-tray at the moment.

It’s not just uncomfortable for us in the north either, where we often feel hard done to when it comes to transport investment. Transport for London, once hailed as an example for others to follow, is now threatening to make huge service cuts across 70 bus routes and even closure of two Underground lines due to its own funding crisis.

This is all at odds with the critical decarbonisation policy that the government has decided upon.

I fully admit that we are in a queue alongside other industries knocking on the door of the Treasury, but transport’s positive impact of helping other agendas should not be overlooked. If anything has the capability to reduce emissions and congestion it is the humble bus.

Here we now are at our busiest time of year; a time when - more than other - people uses buses for many things they often don’t: Christmas shopping, going out for a gesture tipple or two, and meeting friends and family.

We are reminded of the critical role we are offering, and why it is so important that we get the all-important support to carry on doing so: and, here, in the true Harrogate style we always try to do so in!

For when I look across Harrogate, it reminds me of what we have to be grateful for.

We have a resurgent Christmas market offer, busy shopping streets, bustling bars and restaurants alongside our new, towering helter skelter and carousel: it’s beginning to feel quite magical out there. Our town is helping to fill us with those two most important Christmas feelings of ‘hope’ and ‘joy’.

These are the two things I often dollop into the in-tray to get us through the challenges.

I hope your household is equally filled with them this Christmas time - and beyond - too.