People across the district are being invited to provide fresh ideas on how public transport in rural areas can be improved.

Bradford Council is urging people who live in rural communities to apply for Rural Transport Partnership (RTP) grants which aim to improve access to jobs, services and social activities.

Run by Metro and the Countryside Agency the grants scheme supports community-based transport initiatives such as travelling from the countryside to towns and visiting markets.

The Countryside Agency provides up to 75 per cent of the grants, which can be as high as £250,000, with the rest of the money being provided by other partners .

At a Rural Transport Seminar held at Bingley Arts Centre yesterday, Clare Kane, a rural projects officer for the RTP, identified projects already up and running in Calderdale and Kirklees thanks to the grants.

Miss Kane said a rural market day service bus picked up people over the remote hilltops between Sowerby Bridge and Hebden Bridge every Thursday.

And she said money had been provided to fund transport to doctors' surgeries and shops.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, executive member for the environment, said: "Public transport provides a lifeline for people who live in rural communities and we need to make sure they get the services they need.

"It is not just a case of reducing the amount of traffic on our roads but good public transport links give everyone better access to both services and jobs.

"Better rural services are essential to supplying local economies."

Coun Hawkesworth said she believed commuting by cars to work in rural areas could also be cut by introducing shuttle-bus services.

An example where such a project could work was in Ilkley where commuters drive from Addingham to the town to catch a train, she said.

Miss Kane said: "What we're trying to do is compliment and enhance the existing public transport networks and provide alternative methods of transport."

At the seminar Brian Hobson, of Cullingworth Parish Council, said money could be granted to provide US-style yellow school buses to transport pupils from rural areas to urban schools.

Dave Melling, a senior policy officer at Bradford Council's department of policy and executive support, said the suggestion would be considered and an application could be made.

For further information on how to apply and see if an area is eligible for an RTP grant ring Metro on (0113) 2517413.