THE Hopper bus running between Addingham and Steeton/Silsden Railway station is to have its route extended to prevent the 'farce' facing passengers wanting to make hospital visits.

The 903 bus, which began running in December, also serves Airedale General Hospital but not enough services make the extended run to the hospital.

At the annual village meeting, parish council vice-chairman Gordon Campbell said that passengers could go to the hospital from Addingham on the bus, and passengers could return to Addingham from the hospital at Steeton, but unfortunately not on the same day.

Passengers can only get the bus to the hospital and return to Addingham if they stay on the same bus.

Coun Campbell said: "At the moment it is a farce - if you go to see someone in hospital, you have to wave to them from the car park."

After negotiations with bus operator Metro Rural Coun Campbell said that the bus route is to be extended so more services will go to the hospital.

At the meeting villagers also called for bus services to Addingham from Ilkley to be co-ordinated with train services from Ilkley to Leeds and Bradford.

One villager pointed out that there were daily train services terminating at Ilkley at 4.30pm, four minutes after the bus leaves the station for Addingham, meaning villagers having to wait 40 minutes to wait for the next bus.

Parish council chairman Alan Jerome said: "There is far more thought being given now to integrated transport policies - if it could be worked around the rail companies, at least we would get some positive movement forward."

But on the move to get the 903 service extended to Ilkley, Coun Campbell said it would be unlikely to happen.

He said that Metro Rural would not regard a service between Ilkley and Addingham as a necessarily rural service.

Coun Jerome said: "We need to get someone from Metro Rural to come and talk to us - the whole idea of an integrated transport policy is to tie in with the trains."

Parish Councillor Bill Preston said that there was not enough consultation carried out in the village before the new bus was introduced.

"We received no consultation at all - we were just foisted with the Silsden run which has annoyed me. The only way we will get a service to Ilkley is by pressure," said Coun Preston.

He said that around 200 people a week were using the 903 service which worked out around two-and-a-half passengers an hour.

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