Furious bus passengers claim they are being left stranded in the cold at Otley bus station because of unreliable services.

And one Otley trader says he has been forced to close his shop early during the week to catch a more reliable, earlier bus while other passengers say services are now so bad they are getting beyond a joke.

A catalogue of complaints include buses failing to turn up and drivers who refuse to pick up waiting passengers.

Alan Timblin, manager of Otley Traditional Shoe Repairs in Courthouse Street, says he has been forced to shut up shop 15 minutes early to catch a reliable service.

Mr Timblin said: "I'm just so sick of it. The X82 is more dependable and leaves at 4.50pm."

He added: "It just appears that public transport is getting worse, and we don't have an alternative form of transport in Otley. I don't mind commuting, but these buses just knock you for six."

Pensioner Jean Parson, 70, of Broadgate Lane, Horsforth, says she waited for the 731 service for almost two hours in the cold last Friday.

She said: "It's happened three times over the last few weeks. It's the same every Friday night - the buses just come in and run out again.

"It's really pathetic, and it's quite an ordeal when you are waiting all that time for a bus. Something should definitely be done about it because it's affecting everyone.

"The other day two elderly people said they were cold and couldn't wait any longer. They had to get the 732 and walk home."

And Sally Grady, an insurance broker from Headingley, says people are "tearing their hair out'' over the X84 service.

She is angry that she was left stranded for nearly two hours a few weeks ago, and blames drivers who do not let passengers on buses because they are running late.

She said: "It makes me furious. It isn't as if it happens occasionally, and when they don't turn up it's really frustrating.

"When it's an hour-and-a-half or two hours late, it's really beyond a joke."

Mel Sykes, operations director at First Leeds, which runs the X84 and the 731 services, said the complaints would be looked into.

He said: "We are interested to find out if we are not picking people up because we can't operate without customers. Comments about unreliability would be also welcomed."

A spokesman for Metro, which subsidises some bus services, urged dissatisfied passengers to complain.

She said: "We would need to know about a couple of incidents otherwise it's difficult to pinpoint what is wrong. We are there to act on passengers' behalf."

Passengers will be able to raise concerns at the Leeds' Passenger Consultative Committee meeting in April. For further details, contact Metro on (0113) 251 7272. First Leeds can be contacted on (0113) 2451601.

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