A MAJOR revision of airport bus services that will see 24-hour connections to Leeds is being welcomed by a councillor for Otley and Yeadon.

Councillor Colin Campbell says Yorkshire Tiger’s revision will particularly benefit Yeadon residents on the route, who will see an improved fast service into Bradford. He said it would also effectively mean an all-night service to Leeds.

The changes to the 737,747 and 757 services were announced last week and will come into effect from March 8.

They follow on from earlier adjustments to the service between the airport and Bradford, which were made in October last year – which included switching the Airport to Harrogate section of the 737 to the 747.

Announcing the move, Neale Wallace, bus services manager for the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, said the original changes had been done to improve punctuality and resolve a number of operational issues.

He added: “Unfortunately, not all issues have been fully resolved and, as a result of this, the timetables will be readjusted from March 8, 2015, in order to alleviate this problem. “ Cllr Campbell said: “The new services will see the separation of the routes between Harrogate and Bradford with a slightly different frequency and better punctuality while the Leeds service will become a 24-hour operation.

“The improvements to the Harrogate and Bradford routes will bring benefits to places like Pool and Guiseley but the new service to Leeds will not only mean people can get to the airport more easily but residents will also be able to use the service for a night out.

“It is nice to see a company with faith to improve services, in contrast to Otley, where following public pressure the hospital service was restored but the number of buses halved.”

Yorkshire Tiger says changes to services 737 and 747 will consist of minor differences to off-peak intermediate times, significantly increased running time during the weekday peak hours, and changes to the evening and Sunday timetable. It will also mean an additional bus in the afternoon peak.

The company says the 757 Leeds to the Airport service will be enhanced, with improvements including an overnight hourly service between Leeds railway station and the airport from 2am to 4am and increases in evening services from every 60 minutes to every 30 minutes.

There will also be an increase in Sunday services from every 30 minutes to every 20 minutes.