Arriva Yorkshire forced to make timetable changes as roadworks see 'staggering' increase in traffic on Whitehall Road in Leeds

Arriva Yorkshire has made changes to a number of routes across West Yorkshire but highlighted issues brought about by the ongoing work on Whitehall Road as causing “significant worsening” of bus journey times. The company said that the ongoing roadworks have seen traffic volumes increase by a “staggering 39%” and that, in particular, the 229 and 254/255 services were impacted.

It added that work to pedestrianise City Square is also affecting the services 200/201 and 202/203 and that other roadworks across the county are having an impact on drivers, many of whom have to drive more than one route a day.

Arriva said: “Whilst we have some resilience in our timetables, the level of congestion on some routes is delaying us by up to 30 minutes, which far exceeds the level of contingency we have built in. We’re having to add much more running time to compensate for this, and whilst we recognise that this considerably slows down the advertised bus journey time, it is sadly now more reflective of our recent experiences battling through the traffic.”

Arriva also said that it may lose funding support due to the cost of operating some routes being too high and because the trips aren’t being heavily used by passengers.

It said: “This has meant that some evening trips on services 250 and 271 will no longer run, and the 261 will no longer run between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike (it will still run between Heckmondwike, Mirfield and Huddersfield).”

For more details about the changes – which came into effect on January 29 – visit the Arriva website.

A Leeds City Council spokesperson said it had discussed issues that might impact services with bus operators and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) throughout the year, with issues around recruitment and retention of drivers being highlighted. They said: “When works are needed, significant detailed planning goes into coordinating all of the infrastructure, improvements and utilities work to minimise disruption.

“Wherever possible, work is undertaken off peak, overnight, at weekends or during school holidays. Some very significant schemes have been completed in the last 2 years with disruption kept to a minimum.

“Monitoring of the city’s roads is undertaken so that unplanned problems can be dealt with promptly. This has included roads in the city centre which, given the busy time of the year and the weather have generally been running satisfactorily. Monitoring of recent changes to King Street and Thirsk Row is ongoing.

“Unfortunately, there is always the risk of delays that can be caused by unplanned utility emergency works, such as gas and water, adverse weather conditions or traffic incidents outside of our control, which have also contributed to unavoidable additional pressure on our roads in recent weeks. We thank people for their patience and encourage everyone to plan their journeys in advance, either by allowing extra time or using alternative methods of travel.

“We will continue to publish frequent updates to our works in advance on our social media channels, and you can find diversionary routes at www.leeds.gov.uk/planahead.”