Councillors call for better conditions for bus drivers and to bring services under public control

Calls were also made to improve pay and working conditions in a bid to address a shortage of drivers.

Councillors of all parties unanimously voted in favour of fully supporting a franchised bus system in West Yorkshire.

Jakob Williamson, Labour councillor for Hemsworth, proposed the motion at a full council meeting.

The former bus driver said: “I am all too familiar with how bus services are failing our district.

“People are left stranded after work because the last bus never shows.

“It’s clear that our bus services are in crisis.

“They should be publicly controlled and run in the interests of residents and not for private profit.“Franchising would make our bus system more accessible and easier to navigate.”

The motion calls on West Yorkshire Combined Authority to introduced enhanced rates of staff pay under a future franchising system and to ensure bus drivers operate under the same rules as coach and lorry drivers.

Jack Hemingway, deputy leader of the Labour-run authority, said: “I think as a council it is right we set out our position clearly on the future of West Yorkshire’s bus network.

“In doing so it sets an unequivocal message that we support bus franchising.

“Deregulation by the Thatcher government in the 1980s has been an unmitigated disaster.

“Services have got worse, less frequent and less reliable.

“I have seen this with my own eyes.

“I don’t drive, I use bus services every day and the standard of services has declined even further.

“I’m bombarded with similar stories from our constituents, tagged in many photos on social media of mass cancellations, of journeys and lives disrupted.

“The bus companies may blame many factors for this situation.

“But their failure to get a grip of driver shortages is undoubtedly amongst the most serious.

“Things have to change.”

Julie Medford (Labour, Normanton): “Kirkthorpe village is cut off if you haven’t got a car, or a friend or family member who can drive.

“There are tens and tens and tens of messages on my phone.”

“I support this motion because it shows to people that we do care, and we are trying to improve the services for everyone in the Wakefield district.

Tony Homewood, independent councillor for Ossett, said: “What we seem to have got is a bunch of petty pilferers basically loading the system for their own benefit and not for the benefit of the public.”

Tory group leader Nadeem Ahmed said: “The majority of buses in Wakefield are not good.

“I don’t believe that private ownership has benefited the bus service.

“If this motion helps us get a better bus service in Wakefield I will be supporting that.”

Lib Dem leader Pete Girt described privatisation of services as a “complete failure”.