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[textarea]Pool passengers will get 'more reliable' service
Springtime changes to bus services should give passengers from Pool-in-Wharfedale a more reliable service.
That is the view of Metro chairman Councillor Ryk Downes (Lib Dem, Otley and Yeadon) over proposals that would affect the 757 (Leeds to Leeds Bradford Airport to Otley) and 967 Otley to Menston services from April.
Coun Downes also claims that most people who have attended consultation events on the proposals, which will include changes to the 747 (Bradford to Leeds Bradford Airport to Otley) service, have responded positively – although he insists the process is still ongoing.
As first reported in December, Metro (West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive) is proposing to turn the 757 into an express service that would finish at the airport and, on its way to Leeds train station, not stop to pick up passengers beyond The Fleece at Horsforth.
The 757 currently goes on to Pool-in-Wharfedale and Otley after the airport, but the new service would instead link to an extended half-hourly 967 bus which would run from Menston train station via Otley to Pool and then the airport.
Coun Downes acknowledges that the “trade-off” for Pool passengers would be losing a direct bus to Leeds – but believes passengers will be better served overall.
He said: “This should give Pool a more frequent and more reliable service to Otley and the airport and onto Leeds.
“The 967, which is partly funded by the town council, at the moment goes from Otley bus station to Menston train station and Menston every half hour.
“The idea is to extend it so it goes from Menston station to Otley bus station to the airport and then to Pool. The new service is proposed to start earlier, run later and and be every half hour during the day, which the 757 isn’t.” He added: “The change would involve losing a slow, direct bus to Leeds and replacing it with hopefully a more reliable, and more frequent, linked local service that will span a greater part of the day.
“We want to provide a better service to and from Otley, which, like the airport, acts as a springboard to other places.
“By linking the 757 to the 967 there should be less risk of buses not running and, if there is a problem, if you’re at the airport there are at least information displays up telling you when the next bus is coming – and a terminal to get a coffee from if you have to wait.
“Passengers will still be able to get into Leeds, they just won’t be able to do it from Pool in one bus.
“At the moment the 757 sometimes terminates at the airport if it is running late and so misses out Otley and Pool.
“And if the 757 ‘misses’ and you want to get back from Otley to Pool it’s a big problem, and you’re stuck.
“This is also about making the airport more of a ‘hub’, ahead of extra funding that will be coming from the airport for public transport initiatives.”
Metro is also considering reducing the frequency of the 747 service to hourly, and making it take a more direct route from the airport to Bradford.
Aireborough Civic Society has raised fears that residents in the Kirk Lane and Westfield areas of Yeadon would lose out as a result, but Metro says a new, half hourly 969 bus that would run from Guiseley train station to the airport, via Yeadon town centre, should plug the gaps.
Anyone who would like to comment on the proposed changes should contact either Metro (telephone and e-mail details available at wymetro.com) or Coun Downes on 0113 247 4580.
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Springtime changes to bus services should give passengers from Pool-in-Wharfedale a more reliable service.
That is the view of Metro chairman Councillor Ryk Downes (Lib Dem, Otley and Yeadon) over proposals that would affect the 757 (Leeds to Leeds Bradford Airport to Otley) and 967 Otley to Menston services from April.
Coun Downes also claims that most people who have attended consultation events on the proposals, which will include changes to the 747 (Bradford to Leeds Bradford Airport to Otley) service, have responded positively – although he insists the process is still ongoing.
As first reported in December, Metro (West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive) is proposing to turn the 757 into an express service that would finish at the airport and, on its way to Leeds train station, not stop to pick up passengers beyond The Fleece at Horsforth.
The 757 currently goes on to Pool-in-Wharfedale and Otley after the airport, but the new service would instead link to an extended half-hourly 967 bus which would run from Menston train station via Otley to Pool and then the airport.
Coun Downes acknowledges that the “trade-off” for Pool passengers would be losing a direct bus to Leeds – but believes passengers will be better served overall.
He said: “This should give Pool a more frequent and more reliable service to Otley and the airport and onto Leeds.
“The 967, which is partly funded by the town council, at the moment goes from Otley bus station to Menston train station and Menston every half hour.
“The idea is to extend it so it goes from Menston station to Otley bus station to the airport and then to Pool. The new service is proposed to start earlier, run later and and be every half hour during the day, which the 757 isn’t.” He added: “The change would involve losing a slow, direct bus to Leeds and replacing it with hopefully a more reliable, and more frequent, linked local service that will span a greater part of the day.
“We want to provide a better service to and from Otley, which, like the airport, acts as a springboard to other places.
“By linking the 757 to the 967 there should be less risk of buses not running and, if there is a problem, if you’re at the airport there are at least information displays up telling you when the next bus is coming – and a terminal to get a coffee from if you have to wait.
“Passengers will still be able to get into Leeds, they just won’t be able to do it from Pool in one bus.
“At the moment the 757 sometimes terminates at the airport if it is running late and so misses out Otley and Pool.
“And if the 757 ‘misses’ and you want to get back from Otley to Pool it’s a big problem, and you’re stuck.
“This is also about making the airport more of a ‘hub’, ahead of extra funding that will be coming from the airport for public transport initiatives.”
Metro is also considering reducing the frequency of the 747 service to hourly, and making it take a more direct route from the airport to Bradford.
Aireborough Civic Society has raised fears that residents in the Kirk Lane and Westfield areas of Yeadon would lose out as a result, but Metro says a new, half hourly 969 bus that would run from Guiseley train station to the airport, via Yeadon town centre, should plug the gaps.
Anyone who would like to comment on the proposed changes should contact either Metro (telephone and e-mail details available at wymetro.com) or Coun Downes on 0113 247 4580.
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