Ossett Bus Station services are reinstated after operator is given assurances over increased police patrols and security

Arriva announced on Monday that it would not be sending services to the station after 6pm due to an increase in anti-social behaviour.

The operator reversed the decision after West Yorkshire Combined Authority offered to provide evening security.

West Yorkshire Police also intends to step up officer patrols in the area.

A spokesperson for Arriva Yorkshire said: “Arriva Yorkshire is now serving Ossett Bus Station, after having to stop going there last night (August 7) due to multiple incidents of anti-social behaviour.

“The bus operator has been working with West Yorkshire Combined Authority and we’re grateful for their assistance by providing security each evening.

“The safety of our passengers and drivers is of paramount importance.

“We should not have to say that behaving in an anti-social and dangerous way around buses is unacceptable and mindless, but sadly we do.

“This type of behaviour is something we as a bus operator utterly condemn.”

Police have said nuisance behaviour in the town was “going through the roof”.

A public meeting held earlier this month heard people had complained the bus station had become a “no-go zone”.

Police received 20 calls about problems at the bus station over the last six weeks.

The meeting also heard that officers had received more complaints about anti-social behaviour at Ossett and Cleckheaton bus stations than anywhere else in the region.

Sergeant Jayne West, of Wakefield north, west and south neighbourhood policing team, said: “We understand the bus company and wider public’s concerns about anti-social behaviour.

“Plans are being made to provide more resources for patrolling at bus stations generally in the near future and we are working with partners jointly on this issue.

“In the meantime officers have been conducting patrols there when shifts and operational demand allows and recently imposed a dispersal order at the location.

“We have also offered advice to staff at both the bus station and nearby retailers on steps that they can take to help reduce the anti-social behaviour and low-level criminal offences that are being experienced in the area.”

A West Yorkshire Combined Authority spokesperson said: “We are working with partners, including the police and bus operators, to ensure the region’s bus stations are safe and accessible for passengers.

“Following a recent increase in antisocial behaviour, we have secured extra police and security cover at Ossett Bus Station to ensure passenger safety.

“The station will remain open, and operators have now confirmed that services to the station will resume as normal.”