At-risk bus route saved by new provider

An Arriva spokesperson has said the firm plans to cut several routes due to a lack of drivers

A bus route that was due to be cut because of driver shortages has been saved.

Arriva planned to withdraw the 212 service between Dewsbury and Wakefield but West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has found a new provider.

Yorkshire Buses has taken over the route and introduced a revised timetable, a spokesperson for the firm confirmed.

Steve Carr, the company's managing director, said he was "excited to help re-launch the 212 with increased services, helping to improve connectivity across West Yorkshire".

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said: "I am delighted we have been able to step in and work with Yorkshire Buses to save a service that is so important to so many people."

She said WYCA was "working at pace to bring buses back under public control," according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Arriva said it faced an "ongoing shortage" of bus drivers despite more than 300 being hired in the last 12 months.

The company announced it would drop a number of bus routes in 2025 as a result.

Area director for Arriva Yorkshire, Kim Cain, said the firm's bus routes in Yorkshire had "not been performing at the levels that passengers rightly expect".

She said the company had been "working closely with local transport authority partners to develop a robust plan with service changes so that we are able to deliver a reliable timetable that our passengers can have confidence in".

The 212 connects Wakefield, Kirkhamgate, Batley, Dewsbury and District Hospital, and Dewsbury.

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