A group of York students has won the opportunity to have their very own I-phone application developed after winning The App Challenge final, held at the Ron Cooke Hub on Wednesday, January 18.
YUSU Welfare officer Bob Hughes has warned students to be vigilant after a student loans phishing scam has been revealed.
Her Majesty the Queen will be visiting York on Maundy Thursday, 5th April, as part of the 800th anniversary of York’s Charter for the traditional “Royal Maundy” ceremony.
A flood caused by a heating system “failure” forced the university IT services to shut down many essential systems on Sunday night, causing problems for many students on the eve of their exams and assignment due-dates.
A boycott organised by the creator of a Facebook group is underway.
A so-called buscott is underway from the 10th-17th of January.
YUSU President, Anne-Marie Canning has arranged a meeting with First York to discuss both the price-rises and the removal of the 10 journey ticket.
The meeting will take place on Friday to try find a resolution for the problem.
The Yorker kept watch on the ftr bus stops on University Road and Heslington (Derwent College) and found there were a high number of students using the service.
Asked if he had heard about the price-rise, David Conneely, a third-year Politics student said, "No, I didn't know, I hadn't heard about it. I won't be going on it now, that's too expensive."
"I think for a town that relies on students so much they should provide a subsidised cheap ticket. This is all Margaret's Thatcher's fault for privatising public transport."
The Facebook group has a link to an online petition, with 401 signatures, stating that, 'We, the undersigned, call on First York (ftr) to reduce the fares back to the reasonable amount that it was before'
Suggestions by members of the group have included using the alternative bus service provided by another company or YUSU buying their own bus to take students into town, something Canning replied to on the wall by saying, "I have no idea where we could get the sort of budget to put on a bus an hour!"
Hugh Gilroy, creator of the group told us his reasons for forming the group, "I am outraged that the prices have risen, particularly as we are receiving no better service in return for the rise."
"As I am from London, where the oyster has been recently changed from £1.00 to 90p for any distance single, it is shocking that the York fare is double that of London (the capital and most expensive city). I set up the group and it has gathered over 800 members within two days, which I never expected to happen."
He added, "I feel that the boycott is the way to go to truly show FTR that we can travel fine without their highly priced fares."
Of course there's not going to be any success if the only way of finding out about this boycott is through facebook. What the campaign needs is some proper advertising, more time to gather awareness and perhaps the "number free" running more often. YUSU should organise a proper boycott, especially as facebook campaigns rarely mean a thing - people join groups just go avoid those damned notifications popping up.
Bring Ken Livingstone to York, he'd sort the place out!
A good way to get more people off the buses would be to have people at the bus stops, informing people about to use it, and organising people into groups for taxis.
I guess First, like many businesses in York, see their primary demographic (including the students) as white, upper-middle-class conservatives: people who are more likely to put up with vastly inflated prices in the name of "better service".
Just like Sainsbury's at Jacksons.
Walking, people! It's what all the hip kids are doing. Pissing it down with rain? Tuck those jeans into boots and get an umbrella. Fresh air, health and buscotting...which is like prescotting, but less scandalous.
Typical Conneely, always blaming Thatcher!
Posters all over the bus stops, that'd do it
What's really crazy is that uni staff get a discount but students' don't!
I am opposed to the boycott. The bus provides us a service and if we individually choose not to use it because of it's pricing, then so be it. It is the free-market guys, and it works.
@#7 - it's not a free market, in a free market competition would be allowed. It's a council-sponsored monopoly.
If you think the price increase is bad for students who simply want to travel into town, then spare a thought for the few of us who live as far away as Acomb! The cost of a *single* rose from £1.50 to £2.50 (as they charge by distance now)... that's a 67% price increase - obscene. I'd much rather walk the 7 mile round trip!
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