Pensioners and disabled people face a 50 per cent hike in the cost of bus travel, according to a leaked report revealed today.

Fares for travel on buses across West Yorkshire would rise from 20 pence to 30 pence under the plans which have been recommended to Metro, the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority.

Metro hopes to save more than £3 million by introducing the higher charges for passengers using concessionary passes from September.

But today the price hike was condemned by groups representing the 300,000 elderly people who use the passes in West Yorkshire.

Julia Sweredon, of Help the Aged in West Yorkshire, said the move would isolate pensioners who rely on public transport.

"The elderly are one of the main disadvantaged groups in our society and it is wrong to try to save costs by targeting them," she said. "It will make life more difficult for them and if they cannot afford to go on the bus it will make them stay at home and increase the risk of isolation from friends and family. This is not a very wise move and they might want to rethink it."

The price rise, which follows an independent best value review, has been suggested due to the increased cost of subsiding the reduced faces. Metro claims costs have risen from £19 million in 1999 to £21.5 million this year.

The report states that fares must rise or tax payers would be forced to stump-up the extra cash in the form of levies on local councils.

Metro said the only alternative would be to pull the plug on a "large number" of unprofitable bus services which rely on subsidies to operate.

The report states: "The standard concessionary fare was last increased, from 15p to 20p, in April 1997. Since that time, bus fares have increased significantly and the decline in bus patronage has been reversed."

A spokesman for Metro said the planned increase would be the first for five years, and still represented a bigger saving on the normal fare than recommended by the Government.

He said: "More than half of the concessionary permit holders interviewed as part of the best value review said that increasing the fare would have no real effect on their concessionary travel.

"Metro has a lower standard off-peak fares scheme than those operated in South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, and Tyne and Wear."

If the proposals win the approval of councillors at a meeting on Friday, the increased fares would come into effect from Sunday, September 29. Discounts for other concessionary card holders would not be affected.