Transdev Blazefield-owned Keighley Bus Company is to take over the 965 service from First Bus, after the operator decided to withdraw the service.
Keighley Bus Company was approached by West Yorkshire Combined Authority and is expected to take over all journeys on the 96’s current timetable from Monday, October 23, 2017. Currently, evening and Sunday afternoon services on the 965 bus route, linking Weston and the Wharfedale Hospital with Otley town centre, are already provided by The Keighley Bus Company, with other daytime services on the service run by First West Yorkshire.
Keighley Bus Company General Manager, Colin Booth, said: “We’re already proud to be Otley’s leading bus operator, and we’re delighted to be able to take the initiative and decide to run a complete daytime and evening service on the current 965 route, when First withdraw their current daytime journeys in October.
“The 965 daytime journeys will make an ideal addition to our well-established and popular local family of Wharfedale Links services in and around Otley.
“This is a no-brainer addition to our network, and of course, when all the current 965 journeys become part of Wharfedale Links in October, our customers will be able to use our great value multi-journey travel tickets throughout the day, including our K Day, K Card and Daytripper passes.
“Our immediate intention is to replicate the current timetable, but we have some time before we start running buses on the route to consult with customers in case there are any improvements or changes they wish to see. We’re really keen to hear from bus users in Otley with suggestions on how we could better integrate the 965 with our other services in and around the town.”
