TIMETABLES for the Boxing Day bus services funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority are now available.

Buses will serve over 80 routes into city and town centres, retail locations and hospitals on Thursday December 26 as a result of the Combined Authority funding.

Destinations include Birstall Shopping Park, Bradford, Brighouse, Castleford, Dewsbury, Halifax, Hebden Bridge, Huddersfield, Leeds, Leeds Bradford Airport, Pontefract and Pontefract General Hospital, Pinderfields Hospital, Dewsbury and District Hospital, Shipley, Todmorden, Wakefield, Wetherby and the White Rose Centre.

Details of the services, which will run up to every 30 minutes between 9am and 6pm are now available online at www.wymetro.com/boxing-day.

MCards, ENCTS pass concessions and bus operator season tickets will be valid, otherwise normal operator fares will apply.

People planning on making several journeys could benefit from buying DaySavers from £5 for unlimited West Yorkshire Travel on any bus, saving £1.50 on the on-bus price.

Councillor Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: “Up until 2007, when these services were first publicly funded, no bus services ran on Boxing Day and that would still be the case without our input.

“Over 66,000 journeys were made on our Boxing Day bus services last year, which shows that through this support we are providing vital journeys that connect people with family, enable them to make hospital visits, take advantage of the sales and meet up with friends.

“I am pleased we’re able to ensure so many local people have a happier Christmas but would also like to remind people that buses are not just for Christmas but are for the rest of the year too.

“Every double-deck bus able to replace up to 75 cars, a growing proportion of West Yorkshire’s bus fleet achieving ultra-low Euro 6 emission levels and electric buses due to be introduced in the coming months, so by changing their travel habits and reducing congestion, people can start giving a long-term gift to the local environment for 2020 and beyond.”

Cllr Groves also welcomed train operator Northern’s decision to run trains on two routes, between Bradford Forster Square and Skipton and Ilkley, on Boxing Day, saying:

“It is good to see trains running in West Yorkshire on Boxing Day for the first time in many years. If they prove as popular as the Combined Authority-funded Boxing Day buses, I look forward to seeing more services running in future years.”