WEST Yorkshire’s bus network has shrunk by almost a tenth in four years, new figures have revealed.

Analysis of Government statistics shows the number of miles clocked up by buses in the district has plummeted by 5.52 million – almost nine-and-a-half percent – from 2013/14 to 2016/17, which amounts to nearly 222 trips around the equator.

In the wider Yorkshire and the Humber area, miles travelled have fallen by 16.4 million in the past decade.

Bus routes across most of Britain are set and run by commercial companies. Transport authorities also subsidise routes and journeys deemed to be socially necessary but unprofitable.

Figures provided for West Yorkshire show the number of commercial miles and subsidised miles for the four-year period both fell.

Almost five million commercial miles were lost, equating to a 9.2 per cent decrease, and 840,000 subsidised miles were lost, which equates to a 10.6 per cent decrease. Passenger journeys per head of population also fell by 8.5 per cent.

Mark Parry, chair of the bus group for the West Yorkshire Campaign for Better Transport, said he thought much of the reduction was a result of a cut in subsidies for buses due to cutbacks local authorities were having to face.

He said this could lead to people becoming isolated and affect the local economy, particularly in rural areas.

Mr Parry called for funding to be restored and said withdrawing bus services would make problems such as congestion and pollution worse.

A West Yorkshire Combined Authority spokesperson said: “We are committed, through the joint Bus18 initiative launched in Bradford last year with bus companies Arriva Yorkshire, First West Yorkshire, and Transdev, to making buses easy to use, reducing harmful emissions and improving the customer experience.”

He added: “Improvements already made include £23.5 million of investment by the operators in new, cleaner buses and £1m funding to relieve 28 bus congestion hotspots across the county.”

Martin Hirst, commercial director at First West Yorkshire, said it was working with local authorities and other bus operators to make improvements to bus services. 

Jon Croxford, area managing director for Arriva Yorkshire said: “The bus industry in general is experiencing a decline in passenger numbers, whilst at the same time local authorities are cutting financial support for tendered services, which is in turn reducing the number of passengers travelling on the wider network.

"To give the best possible service reliability, we are constantly reviewing our timetables and we have had some great successes working in partnership with local councils and combined authorities on new bus priority measures to reduce congestion, which can play a part in passenger decline.”

Transdev were also contacted for comment.