Tingley resident slams 'unreliable' south Leeds bus services as operators plan further cuts

Bryan Walters lives on the 202/203 Arriva bus route which connects south Leeds with the city centre.

Until recently, the service ran between Huddersfield and Leeds city centre, and was the only bus service to Leeds for people living along the busy A653 Dewsbury Road in Tingley.

However, it has been beset with problems, with a host of late buses, buses that missed and services terminating early at the White Rose Centre and not continuing on to the city centre.

Speaking to the YEP, Bryan explained how local people rely on the service.

“Just this morning my daughter had to contend with two cancellations on her journey to work. The service is unreliable and there is no alternative so you’ve got a main route into Leeds with no buses,” he explained.

"You are talking about thousands of people who don’t have a regular bus service and the bus service which is there is now being run down to the point where in an evening there are no buses into the city.”

Bryan explained that many evening services from Huddersfield to Leeds terminate at Tingley while others only go as far as the White Rose.

Leading to many locals being forced back into their cars.

Bryan added: "If people can’t rely on the service then they have to find other ways to work such as asking for lifts.

"Being from the south of Leeds we have resorted to drop my daughter off if she is going out.

"Or if we are going out in Leeds try get a friend to drop us off.”

The route is one of many which is facing a further scaling back of its service with 13 different routes to be axed completely from next month.

In a statement provided to the YEP, Arriva Yorkshire who are responsible for the 202/203 route said the scaling back isn’t a decision it takes lightly.

"We know how important our bus network is to communities in West Yorkshire and the decision to make changes to services is not one we take lightly,” a spokesperson said.

“Unfortunately, a combination of reduced passenger numbers since the pandemic and higher operational costs mean that some of our services are no longer economically viable and have been run at a loss for some time despite government recovery funding.”

Earlier this year the service was split, with only the 202 serving the area from Soothill Road to Tingley Roundabout, and the 203 going elsewhere. This left an hourly service going along Dewsbury Road for the majority of the day.

The recent rollback will see some early morning journeys withdrawn and with the evening service only running between Huddersfield and Shaw Cross.

This comes only a few weeks after Tracy Brabin, the West Yorkshire Mayor, named Leeds to Dewsbury as one of the routes in a new Mass Transit System.

A West Yorkshire Combined Authority spokesperson said:

“We’re disappointed that passengers are being let down by services being cancelled without notice or running only part of the route.

"We work closely with all of West Yorkshire’s bus operators and will be asking Arriva what steps they are taking to restore the timetabled service.”