Responding to today's report by the Citizens Advice and the Campaign for Better Transport which warns that cutting bus services could force low-income workers out of their jobs, Metro Director General Kieran Preston said,

"The importance of bus services, particularly in the early morning, late at night, in rural areas and on Sundays is why Metro spends approaching £25m each year subsidising bus journeys that the operators won't run because they don't consider them sufficiently profitable.

"In West Yorkshire 90% of bus services have a tendered element, which means either the whole journey or part of it is paid for by Metro. That represents 12 million or ¼ of all bus miles run in the county and around 35 million of the 190 million passenger journeys made in West Yorkshire every year.

"Virtually no early-morning or night-time buses, which tend to be used by people working shifts and in services sector roles such as cleaning, would run unless Metro funded them. We also aim to ensure the more rural and remote areas are not cut off.

"When operators announce they will be withdrawing services that people rely on to get to work, because they no longer consider them profitable enough, Metro aims to make sure those passengers are not left stranded and in danger of losing their jobs

"For instance we have recently had to find over £105,000 for the continuation until April 2011 of evening services to the villages of Mixenden and Siddal in Calderdale, and to ensure services 675 and 677 continue beyond Shipley to Nab Wood and Cottingley.

"This week we are facing the prospect of significant job losses in the public sector and hearing confident claims of job creation by the private sector but we have to ensure the ongoing existence of the bus services needed for getting people to and from those vital jobs."

Citizens Advice and the Campaign for Better Transport report (570KB)