THE number of miles covered by bus services in West Yorkshire has fallen by nearly a third over the last decade, new figures show.

Department for Education figures show bus companies in the county provided 43 million miles of services in the year to March – down from 46.8 million the year before.

In 2012-13, 60.2 million miles were provided, meaning bus coverage has been cut by 29 per cent over the last decade.

Nationally, the total length of bus routes has fallen by 21 per cent, from 1.3 billion miles in 2012-13 to one billion last year.

Silviya Barrett, director of policy and research at the Campaign for Better Transport, said declining bus provision was "disappointing".

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Buses are our most popular form of public transport and play a vital role in connecting communities, but passenger numbers remain down nearly 12 per cent on pre-Covid levels.

"To keep essential routes running and encourage people back onto buses, the Government has invested over £3.5billion since 2020, and by using funding redirected from HS2, we have also extended the £2 bus fare cap until the end of 2024 thanks to our Network North plan."