Campaigners in favour of a free shuttle bus for Bradford city centre are putting together a petition to strengthen their argument.

The petition is being spearheaded by members of Bradford Older People's Alliance (BOPA), who believe the bus would attract more shoppers into Bradford and be of great benefit to people who struggle to walk to the top end of the city.

Julie Lintern, co-ordinator for the old people's alliance, said the petition had met with a good public response and added that members were looking forward to presenting it to Bradford Council's executive next month.

Last July, the Council's executive agreed that the feasibility of introducing a FreeCityBus service should be reassessed and decided that funding for the service should be referred to this year's budget process.

Since then, project development has continued to a stage where the full implications of introducing the service can be assessed by the project's steering group.

Various route options have been tested and further liaison has taken place with key partners, while the Council has been able to see how the FreeCityBus services in three other West Yorkshire districts have performed.

BOPA plans to present its petition during a meeting of the Council's executive on February 5, when they believe the full findings of the steering group are due to be reported and discussed.