Christmas celebrations are set to slam the brakes on public transport in West Yorkshire.
The county’s passenger transport authority, Metro, has confirmed there will be a near-total shutdown of local train and bus services during part of the festive period.
A Saturday timetable will operate on the buses on Christmas Eve until 6pm.
Service levels will then be steadily reduced until 8pm, after which no buses will run.
The only buses on the road in West Yorkshire on Christmas Day will be a handful of free-to-use services in the Keighley area.
Most regular buses will not be running on Boxing Day either, although Metro is once again funding special services to popular destinations such as the White Rose Shopping Centre and Birstall Shopping Park.
Saturday bus timetables will be in force on December 27 and 28.
West Yorkshire’s train services will begin winding down after 8pm on Christmas Eve before grinding to a complete halt after 10pm.
No trains will run in the county on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, with services only getting back to normal on December 27.
Network Rail, however, says passengers will experience less disruption this Christmas than they have in the past.
The company, which is responsible for the country’s rail infrastructure, said the number of replacement buses running over the festive period would be almost half of the figure for 2011.
Network Rail’s managing director for network operations, Robin Gisby, said: “We’re doing a lot of work this year to improve Britain’s railway and there will be some disruption to passengers over the Christmas period, but the overall effect on passengers is much lower than in previous years.”
* For more details on local train and bus services, visit the wymetro.com website or ring MetroLine on 0113 245 7676.
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