Public transport users have been handed some much-needed reasons to be cheerful by the biggest bus operator in Leeds.
Bosses at First kicked off 2013 in upbeat fashion by announcing a fares freeze across the city and the rest of West Yorkshire.
Now the firm has revealed details of timetable changes in Leeds that it says will improve service levels and punctuality from this Sunday.
It has also confirmed the introduction of a £1 single fare for journeys between Headingley’s Arndale Centre and the Parkinson Steps at the University of Leeds.
A spokesman for the operator said today: “It is a good time for a vast majority of First customers.”
Timetable changes include:
* More Sunday journeys on the 6 (Leeds-Headingley-Holt Park), 28 (Adel-Headingley-Leeds) and 97 (Leeds-Headingley-Guiseley) services;
* A new Monday-Friday morning peak timetable on the 50A (Horsforth-Leeds-Seacroft) to improve punctuality.
* New schedules on the X14/X15 (Leeds-Pudsey circulars), again to improve punctuality.
The new £1 fares between Headingley and the University of Leeds have been introduced on service numbers 1, 6, 28 and 97.
First has withdrawn one service, the 95, following the closure of the university’s Bodington hall of residence in Adel.
A spokesman for the operator said: “Following feedback from both customers and our partners in the local authorities, we have brought in a number of service changes which will see extra services on Sundays as well as punctuality benefits.
“The closure of Bodington Hall means we no longer need to run service 95, which was the main bus for the campus.
“However, to ensure that other customers who may have used this service are not affected, we are making significant changes to [the number] 1 to ensure that the level of service is the same or even better.”
Another local bus operator, Arriva Yorkshire, put up a number of its single fares on January 13.
Regulated rail fares, which include season tickets, rose by an average of 4.2 per cent nationwide on January 2.
The average regulated fare increase in West Yorkshire, however, was 6.2 per cent, due to a funding deal that provided extra carriages for the county.
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