Please find below an update from First Bus to advise they are reintroducing the X84 service in February following feedback from customers and myself:
Good morning,
I am writing to make you aware of steps we are taking to better support customer journeys between Leeds-Otley. From 23 February 2025, we will re-introduce the ‘express’ X84 limited stop service. This date is the earliest opportunity to make changes, due to regulations and deadlines required by the Traffic Commissioner.
This decision is the result of an extensive review following feedback from councillors and MPs of the experience of constituents. This builds on the immediate actions we took from 25 November to improve journeys on the existing 25/26 service which replaced the X84.
We firmly believed the 25/26 services, together with other changes on the Headingley corridor, would create better journeys for customers. Unfortunately, the plans made were unable to bear their fruits due to challenging circumstances on the road. Roadworks in several locations have caused a severe impact on reliability, with delays of up to 30 minutes.
Moving forward, we would welcome discussion and support from Councillors and Officers regards how the potential impact of road improvements is considered within bus timetabling plans.
Implementing the X84 limited stop service will mean an end to the connectivity we re-introduced to Pool-in-Wharfedale in October with our 25 service. A review of passenger volumes has revealed this is generating fewer than 5% of journeys and therefore the impact will be restricted to a small number of users. However, I understand that for these users, this decision may cause some frustration.
In the immediate term, the duplicate buses we added in November to services immediately preceding the 25/26 have helped to alleviate pressure on capacity and passenger loading. We will introduce further resources from 5 January 2025 to support reliability on the overall Headingley corridor which should also benefit customers travelling from Otley.
The new X84 will include additional morning and evening peak trips between Otley and Leeds from Monday-Friday. This follows a review of passenger loadings and is intended to provide additional protection against potential overload pinch points.
Frequency outside these peak periods will be revised to approximately every 40 minutes from the current half-hour daytime Monday-Saturday and hourly evenings and Sundays. This is designed to manage heavy congestion, which is present now and forecast to continue into next year due to a series of roadworks.
This alteration in frequency is needed to ensure reliability, but also to balance costs and resources given the return to limited stopping, which we believe will give customers the quicker journeys requested. No increase in frequency will be possible without funding support.
I hope you agree this is a positive move to help achieve the outcomes we all want to see across the bus network: increasing bus use and a good customer experience. We were grateful for the prompt feedback received and have acted swiftly to respond.
Full details of timetables will be available in the new year, once the required approval processes with the Combined Authority and Traffic Commissioner are complete. Timetables will be communicated to customers from mid-January.
Here’s sending you best wishes for the festive season. I trust we can begin 2025 from a position of positive bus use and experience for your constituents travelling between Leeds and Otley.
