Bus firm First pledges to freeze fares

The company said it would freeze fares for as long as possible

Yorkshire's largest bus operator has announced it will be freezing fares in the new year.

First, which runs routes in South, West and North Yorkshire, said passenger fares would stay at the current level for the "foreseeable future".

The company said the move was a bid to attract more passengers.

A First spokesman said the firm was working hard to keep costs down and it would not be making any cuts to its services.

The spokesman said the only changes planned were "tweaks" to its West Yorkshire timetables to improve punctuality levels on some routes.

It said those services had "struggled to hit the punctuality levels expected by customers" and the changes would be announced in January.

Ian Humphreys, managing director for First in West and North Yorkshire, said: "We are working hard to keep our costs down and we will keep them as low as possible for as long as we can.

"And despite some local reports that we are planning a whole range of cuts to bus services in the region, the only changes being made in January will be to improve punctuality on a small number of services.

"Over the next few months, we will launch a range of initiatives that will continue to aim to grow the number of people using our buses."