TRAFFIC congestion has been blamed for a decision to scrap a bus service running through Silsden town centre.

The 712, which runs along busy Kirkgate, will this month be amalgamated with two other services that travel through Silsden on their journeys between Keighley and Ilkley.

Residents this week slammed the decision by bus operator Transdev, while a district councillor called for a rethink.

Passengers are also angry the new combined service – a revised version of the current 762 route – will no longer visit Dradishaw Road, affecting dozens of pensioners who live in nearby sheltered housing.

One Silsden resident said people living around Dradishaw Road are “very cross” changes are being made to the 762/765 services despite their bus stop being extremely well-used.

Another townswoman, Hazel Barker, is organising a petition calling for the route change – scheduled for August 30 – to be cancelled.

But Keighley-based bus company Transdev said combining all its Silsden services under one number would offer a simplified route that was much easier to understand and remember.

A spokesman added: “We have chosen the new route to serve the maximum amount of people and Woodside Road gets a much better service.

“We’ll no longer be able to serve the lightly-used stops in Dradishaw Road, but we will continue to serve both ends of the road, and extra bus stops are being placed here to ensure residents are no more than a short walk away from a stop.

“We will no longer be serving Kirkgate as the amount of parked vehicles on this already narrow road have caused delays and posed potential accident risks to our buses.”

Cllr Andrew Mallinson, who represents Craven ward on Bradford Council, was concerned to hear congestion had caused the removal of Kirkgate from the bus route.

He said: “Congestion in Silsden is a serious concern if it is impacting on public services. This will affect the most vulnerable people in the town and will have a huge knock-on impact.

“If a public service can’t operate efficiently through Silsden because of congestion, how it is affecting commerce and industry?

“We have some significant businesses in Silsden that operate worldwide, and they need to be able to operate smoothly.”

The new 762 route will enter Silsden along Keighley Road, then travel along Elliott Street, Woodside Road and Skipton Road before returning to the main route at the Bolton Road junction.

The service will operate every half-hour from Monday to Saturday during the day, and hourly during the evening, Sundays and public holidays.

Passenger transport body Metro said a separate publicly-funded service – the 903 bus run by Jacksons of Silsden – will continue to serve Kirkgate and the area around Dradishaw Road.