Keighley is to launch its first ever park and ride scheme in a bid to attract more people into the town centre and cut traffic congestion, it was revealed today.

Thousands of shoppers, tourists and rail passengers could use the bus service with town centre businesses also set to benefit.

The five-week scheme - funded through Keighley's Town Centre Partnership, money from the town's Single Regeneration Budget and donations from local traders - will provide a free link between the railway station, Airedale Shopping Centre and the Damside car park, with various other stops in between.

Organisers hope the partnership's integrated public transport initiative will encourage similar projects in other areas and say if the summer pilot scheme proves successful it may become permanent.

The £4,000 scheme is aimed at attracting summer visitors from the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway's daily steam service and Aire Valley line passengers into the town centre as well as encouraging travellers from Keighley to leave their vehicles at the Damside multi-storey and ride to the train station.

The result of an agreement between Keighley Business Forum, Keighley and District Travel, Northern Spirit and the North West Transport Environment Trust, the Summer 700 service will run a hopper bus every 30 minutes between 11.05am and 3.55pm, Monday to Saturday, from August 2.

KBF project officer Graham Mitchell said: "It will be Keighley's first central area park and ride scheme and by starting and finishing at the railway station, where it will directly connect with trains from Leeds, Bradford and Skipton, it will be the town's first genuinely integrated bus-rail project.

"The national Government wants local authorities and the public at large to make more use of public transport as we can't all go on taking our cars everywhere we want to.

"What better way of fulfilling several needs in Keighley than by providing a direct link between the railway and bus stations, linking into an under-used car park and bringing more potential shoppers into the town centre?"

Councillor Barry Thorne (Lab, Keighley West), chairman of the town centre partnership group, said: "It's a smashing idea which should attract lots more visitors to use Keighley's excellent town centre shopping facilities."

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