THE region’s tourism capital has won another accolade – and been rated as having the best bus services in England.

Passengers’ overall satisfaction with services in York was higher than in any other English authority surveyed.

The independent study was carried out by Passenger Focus, a statutory body established by the Department for Transport.

It interviewed 762 bus passengers on a range of bus services across the city, with similar surveys undertaken in 23 local authority areas and 15 bus operator areas.

Overall, 93 per cent of bus passengers in York were either satisfied or very satisfied with the bus service they were travelling on. Passengers’ overall satisfaction with services was also higher in York.

The local cabinet m ember for transport, Cllr David Levene, said: “Being rated has having the best bus area in the England is a huge achievement for both the bus operators and passengers.

“Our aim is to encourage even more people to travel by bus and increase passenger numbers. Last year there were 15.6 million individual bus journeys in York, an increase of 300,000 compared to the previous year.

“We know our ongoing work to improve services is working and we want to continue to deliver real benefits for the city by reducing congestion, improving air quality and health.”