First Bradford is one of the bus companies serving the area of West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It forms part of FirstGroup. The company operates the majority of services in the Bradford

Bradford

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

 area, covered by Metro, a public body responsible for helping to co-ordinate public transport

Public transport

Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

 services in the West Yorkshire area.

History

First Bradford originally formed part of the Yorkshire Rider

Yorkshire Rider

-History:Yorkshire Rider was formed in 1986, as a result of deregulation of bus services in the UK. The West Yorkshire PTE was no longer allowed to operate buses itself, so an arm's length operating company was created. In 1988 the undertaking became fully privatised when it was subject to an...

 company in the 1980s and 1990s, which operated most of the services in the West Yorkshire area, the company was formed in 1986 at the time of deregulation

Deregulation

Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...

 with the town suffix at the end of the name. Yorkshire Rider continued operation of services until 1994 when the company was purchased by Badgerline Group, which would merge with Grampian Regional Transport in 1995 to form the First Group, the services being renamed Bradford Traveller.

In 1996, the First logo started to appear on services and was given its own individual livery, changing from the green and white of Yorkshire Rider to a two-tone blue with red livery. In 1998, the 'First' prefix was adapted to the names of the companies, with the company taking on its current name. First Bradford and would incorporate First Group's standard livery now seen on the majority of First services in the country by 2000.

First Card

First Card is a cashless way of paying for fares within the city. Similar to the Oyster Card

Oyster card

The Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems across London including London Underground, buses, the Docklands...

 sceme in London, one can store cash to pay for your fare, an annual pass available in daily, weekly, monthly and yearly subscriptions or a combination.

Bus services

First Bradford operates services mainly in the Bradford areas but also run services into Halifax

Halifax, West Yorkshire

Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...

, Huddersfield

Huddersfield

Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....

 and Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

.

List of routes

This is a summary of First Bradford services.

No.	From	To	Via	Notes
72	Bradford Bradford Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...	Leeds City bus station Leeds City bus station Leeds City bus station serves the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The bus station is owned and managed by Metro. It is situated between the Quarry Hill and Leeds City Markets areas of Leeds city centre...	Thornbury Thornbury, West Yorkshire Thornbury is a district on the eastern edge of Bradford, in West Yorkshire, England on the border with the City of Leeds and located in the Bradford Moor ward and in the East Bradford parliamentary constituency.... , Stanningley Stanningley Stanningley is a district of Pudsey, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately west of Leeds city centre on the original main road from Leeds to Bradford... , Armley Armley Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than a mile from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the industrial revolution and had several mills, one of which is now the Armley Mills museum...	Connecting the Cities
606 607	Thornton	Holme Wood Holme Wood Holme Wood is a housing estate in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It borders on Tyersal and also the Leeds boundary. It is the birthplace of actress' Sophie McShera and Jennifer Metcalfe...	Bradford, Laisterdyke Laisterdyke Laisterdyke is an area of Bradford, West Yorkshire situated to the east of the city on the border with Leeds and located in the Bradford Moor ward and in the East Bradford parliamentary constituency.... , Tyersal Tyersal Tyersal is a village east of Bradford and west of Leeds and has a population of 2,605 according to Bradford Community Statistics Project.The district is split between both City of Bradford metropolitan borough and Pudsey in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough.Tyersal joined Bradford in 1882...  (606)	Blue Line. Service 606 runs one Sunday journey between Bradford and Holme Wood
610	Shipley Shipley, West Yorkshire Shipley is a town in West Yorkshire, England, by the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, north of Bradford and north-west of Leeds....	Hungerhill	Five Lane Ends, Bradford, Great Horton Great Horton Great Horton is a Ward in Bradford Metropolitan District in the county of West Yorkshire, England.The ward covers the area west of Bradford ring road and east of the village of Clayton. The areas covered include Great Horton, Scholemore, Paradise Green, Lidget Green and Pickles Hill... , Queensbury Queensbury, West Yorkshire Queensbury is a village in the metropolitan borough of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Perched on a high vantage point above Clayton and Thornton and overlooking Bradford itself, Queensbury is one of the highest parishes in England, with fine views beyond the West Yorkshire conurbation to the...	Runs Bradford - Shipley. three journeys only. shipley to bradford: 0940 & 1040. Bradford to shipley: 1006
611 612	Shipley	Buttershaw Buttershaw Buttershaw is a residential area of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded by Horton Bank Top to the north, Wibsey to the east, Woodside to the South and Shelf to the west....	Five Lane Ends, Bradford, Great Horton	611 runs evenings (Late night journeys from Bradford operate as 612 and they do not serve five lane ends) 612 runs daytime
613	Fagley	Buttershaw	Bradford
614	Fagley	Mayo Avenue	Bradford
615	Bradford	Cottingley Cottingley, Bradford Cottingley is a suburban village within the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England, situated between Shipley and Bingley. It is perhaps best known for the Cottingley Fairies, which appeared in a series of photographs taken there during the early 20th century.-Governance:Cottingley is part of...	Allerton	Evenings and Sundays extends to Bingley and Eldwick
616	Bradford	Bingley	Allerton Allerton, West Yorkshire Allerton is a former village in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, now increasingly part of the Bradford conurbation.Chellow Dene is a local beauty spot. This is a wooded valley with two Victorian reservoirs and is a haven for local wildlife.... , Wilsden Wilsden Wilsden is a village and civil parish to the west of Bradford, in West Yorkshire, England. Wilsden is close to the Aire Valley and the nearby villages of Cullingworth, Harden, Cottingley and Allerton. Wilsden re-acquired civil parish status in 2004...	Evenings and Sundays extends to Eldwick
617 618	Allerton	Holme Wood	Bradford	Pink Line
619	Bradford	B.R.I
620 621	Haworth Road	Bierley	Bradford, East Bowling (621)	Yellow Line. 620 runs Monday-Saturday daytime, 621 runs evenings and Sundays
622 623	Scholes Scholes, Cleckheaton Scholes is a village near Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, England.The village is south of Bradford between Wyke and Cleckheaton near to the M62 motorway....	Eldwick	Wyke Wyke Wyke is a Ward in Bradford Metropolitan District in the county of West Yorkshire, England, named after the village of Wyke.... , Odsal Odsal Odsal is a village in the metropolitan district of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated outside the village of Wibsey. Odsal's main attraction is Odsal Stadium which is the home of the four times Super League champions the Bradford Bulls... , Bradford, Shipley, Bingley	Purple Line. Some journeys split at Bradford with 626
624	West Bowling	Shipley Glen	Bradford, Wrose Wrose Wrose is a village and civil parish in the City of Bradford metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, about three miles north of Bradford city centre, and south-east of Shipley. It sits on top of a hillside at a height of around 600 feet above sea level, overlooking the Aire valley and... , Shipley
625 626	Brighouse Brighouse Brighouse is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Calder, east of Halifax in the Pennines. It is served by Junction 25 of the M62 motorway and Brighouse railway station on the Caldervale Line and Huddersfield Line. In the...	Baildon	Bailiff Bridge Bailiff Bridge Bailiff Bridge is a village north of Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England and from Huddersfield and from Bradford.The village is served by the A641 main road which connects it to the nearby towns and cities.-History:... , Wyke, Odsal, Bradford, Shipley	Purple Line. 625 runs evenings and Sundays, 626 runs Monday-Saturday daytime only. Some 626 journeys split at Bradford with 622/623
627	Brighouse	Shipley Glen	Baliff Bridge, Wyke, Odsal, Bradford, Wrose, Shipley	Purple Line. Evenings and Sundays only
628	Bradford	Wrose	Bolton Woods	Weekday off-peak service
630	Bradford	Tyersal
636 637	Clayton Clayton, West Yorkshire Clayton is a civil parish in the City of Bradford metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, situated 3 miles to the west of the city centre. It is listed in the Domesday Book, meaning it dates back to at least the 11th century and was privately owned from 1160 to 1866. It was noted for its...	Bradford Moor Bradford Moor Bradford Moor is an electoral ward in the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. It is in the BD3 postcode area.The ward covers the areas of Bradford known as Bradford Moor, Laisterdyke and Thornbury...	Bradford	Orange Line
640 641	Buttershaw	Five Lane Ends (Morrisons)	Bradford	Red Line. Circulars
645	Buttershaw	Greengates Greengates Greengates is a small suburban area in the north-east of the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, in England. The area is bordered by Idle and Thackley to the north west, and the large council estate known as Thorpe Edge to the west. To the south of Greengates is Ravenscliffe with the village of...	Bradford	Green Line. Circular
649	Bradford	Esholt Esholt Esholt is a village between Shipley and Guiseley, in the metropolitan district of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.- Derivation of name :The name "Esholt" indicates that the village was first established in a heavily wooded area of ash trees....	Shipley, Baildon	Limited service
656 657 658 659	Bradford	Baildon Lucy Hall	Shipley
660	Bradford	Saltaire Saltaire Saltaire is a Victorian model village within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, West Yorkshire, England, by the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal...	Five Lane Ends, Shipley, Bingley
670	Bradford	Leeds City bus station	Five Lane Ends, Greengates, Calverley Calverley Calverley is a village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, on the A657 road, midway between Leeds city centre and Bradford... , Kirkstall
675 677	West Bowling	Cottingley	Bradford, Shipley	Evenings and Sundays runs West Bowling-Shipley
680	Bradford	Smiddles Lane	Heaton
681 682	Halifax Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...	Fagley (682)	Northowram Northowram Northowram is a village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England that stands to the east of Halifax on the north side of Shibden valley. Southowram stands on the southern side of the valley.... , Shelf, Odsal, Bradford	681 runs Monday-Saturday daytime, 682 runs evenings and Sundays
709 710	Bradford	Troydale	Thornbury, Pudsey Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in West Yorkshire, England. Once an independent town, it was incorporated into the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds in 1974, and is located midway between Bradford and Leeds city centres. It has a population of 32,391....
714	Bradford	Owlcotes Centre	Thornbury
845	Odsal	Bradford		Evenings and Sundays only
846	Buttershaw	Shipley	Bradford, Five Lane Ends
BCB	Bradford Interchange	Bradford Interchange	Forster Square Bradford Forster Square railway station Bradford Forster Square station is a railway station in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The majority of services to/from the station use Class 333 electrified trains operated by Northern Rail, on the Airedale Line to Skipton, the Wharfedale Line to Ilkley and the Leeds-Bradford Line to Leeds.The... , University of Bradford University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a British university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966, making it the 40th University to be created in Britain, but its origins date back to the early 1800s...	Bradford FreeCityBus
X6	Huddersfield Huddersfield Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....	Leeds City bus station	Brighouse, Bradford	Connecting the Region. Limited Stop
X11	Bradford	Leeds Eastgate	Thornbury, Pudsey, Armley	Limited Stop. Jointly run with First Leeds First Leeds First Leeds is one of the bus companies serving the area of West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
Some First Calderdale & Huddersfield First Calderdale & Huddersfield First Calderdale & Huddersfield is one of the bus companies serving the area of West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...  and First Leeds First Leeds First Leeds is one of the bus companies serving the area of West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...  services also run in the Bradford area:
363	Huddersfield	Bradford	Bradley Bar, Brighouse, Odsal	Brown Line. Run by First Calderdale & Huddersfield
505	Halifax	Four Lane Ends (Bradford)	Illingworth, Thornton	Limited weekday service. Run by First Calderdale & Huddersfield
508	Halifax	Leeds City bus station	Shelf Shelf, West Yorkshire Shelf is a village in West Yorkshire, England. The village is situated halfway between Bradford and Halifax. It has a population of 4,496.In the Domesday Book it is called Scelf.... , Odsal, Stanningley, Farsley, Kirkstall	Run by First Calderdale & Huddersfield
539	Stainland	Shelf	West Vale, Halifax, Bradshaw, Hungerhill	Run by First Calderdale & Huddersfield. Limited weekday service between Hungerhill and Shelf
570	Halifax	Bradford	Elland, Brighouse, Shelf	Run by First Calderdale & Huddersfield
571	Halifax	Bradford	Southowram Southowram Southowram is a village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England that stands on the hill top to the east of Halifax, on the south side of Shibden valley. It is a small Pennine village with outlying regions of Bank Top, Brookfoot and Siddal... , Brighouse, Shelf	Run by First Calderdale & Huddersfield
576	Halifax	Bradford	Queensbury Queensbury, West Yorkshire Queensbury is a village in the metropolitan borough of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Perched on a high vantage point above Clayton and Thornton and overlooking Bradford itself, Queensbury is one of the highest parishes in England, with fine views beyond the West Yorkshire conurbation to the...	Lime Green Line. Run by First Calderdale & Huddersfield
X8	Halifax	Leeds City bus station	Shelf, Odsal, Stanningley, Armley	Limited Stop. Peak times only. Afternoon journey starts from White Rose Centre. Run by First Calderdale & Huddersfield

Overground

In the last few years, First has introduced overground services on services with a frequent daytime service. The overground is now a prominent fixture on all First bus companies in the UK and is based on the London Underground network with each service having its own colour line.

The services that form the Overground network in Bradford are:

Number	Branding	From	To	Via	Notes
72	Connecting the Cities	City Centre	Leeds	Thornbury, Stanningley, Armley
363	Brown	City Centre	Huddersfield	Odsal Top, Brighouse, Bradley Bar	Operated by First Calderdale & Huddersfield First Calderdale & Huddersfield First Calderdale & Huddersfield is one of the bus companies serving the area of West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
576	Lime Green	City Centre	Halifax	Queensbury, Boothtown	Operated by First Calderdale & Huddersfield
607	Blue	Thornton	Holme Wood	Four Lane Ends, City Centre, Laisterdyke
617 618	Pink	Allerton	Holme Wood	Bradford Royal Infirmary, Girlington, City Centre, Dudley Hill
620 621	Yellow	Haworth Road	Bierley	Toller, City Centre, Dudley Hill	621 runs evenings and Sundays only
622 623	Purple	Scholes	Eldwick	Wyke- City Centre, Shipley, Bingley
625 626	Purple	Brighouse	Baildon Towngate	Bailiff Bridge, Wyke, City Centre, Shipley	625 runs evenings and Sundays only
627	Purple	Shipley Glen	Brighouse	Shipley, City Centre, Wyke, Bailiff Bridge	Evenings and Sundays only
636 637	Orange	Clayton, The Avenue	Gain Lane Thornbury Leisure Centre	Lidget Green, Listerhills, City Centre, Bradford Moor
640 641	Red	Buttershaw, Cooper Lane	Five Lane Ends	Little Horton, City Centre, Eccleshill	Circulars around Five Lane Ends and Thorpe Edge
645	Green	Buttershaw, Cooper Lane	Greengates	Wibsey, City Centre, Undercliffe, Ravenscliffe	Circular around Greengates
X6	Connecting the Region	Huddersfield	Leeds	Brighouse, Wyke, City Centre, Thornbury

Free City Bus

First Bradford operates the FreeCityBus

FreeCityBus

FreeCityBus or FreeTownBus is a family of zero-fare bus services which are operated in the centres of several cities and towns in the English county of West Yorkshire. The services operate as FreeCityBus in the cities of Bradford, and Wakefield and as FreeTownBus in the towns of Huddersfield and...

 service through a partnership including themselves, Metro and City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council.
This free service is a loop around the city, connecting major shopping areas, rail stations and transport interchanges, City Hall, the city College and University

Electrobus

First Bradford operated the trial service of a new electric minibus which operated within the hilly pedestrianised areas of the city centre. It was hoped this service would replace the old 600 Shop Hopper service once the Westfield Bradford

Westfield Bradford

Westfield Bradford is a planned leisure and shopping complex in Bradford, England. In preparation for the project a number of buildings, mainly dating from the 1960s, were demolished on Forster Square and major shopping street Broadway....

project was completed. However, the Free City Bus has been favoured over this idea.

City Circle

In October 2008 it was announced that both City Circle services, 601 and 602 would be cancelled. This was due to low passenger numbers, however some services in the peaks could become quite overcrowded.
First introduced a revised service 680 and a brand new service 619 which would replace the route of the City Circle in the west of the city. Passengers in East Bradford are still awaiting replacement services.

Guided Busway

Bradford's Manchester Road Quality Bus Initiative is a £12m ground breaking project developed and funded by a public & private sector partnership consisting of Bradford Council, Metro -with the benefit of Department for Transport Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) funding through the local Transport Plan and First who also invested £1m in the scheme's infrastructure.

Extending along 3.7 kilometres of one of the City's main arteries the initiative aims to deliver significant improvements to Public Transport in the South Bradford area and ease congestion on the City's main southern approach. The initiative includes 2.3 km of guided busway & 1.2 km of dedicated bus lanes.

The work to create the guiedway took over a year to complete The combination of bus-only guideways, dedicated bus lanes, modern bus stops and shelters, and a fleet of modern, low floor buses specially adapted to run in the guideways, will mean passengers can enjoy more reliable services, improved surroundings, better ride quality and quicker journey times.

The Manchester Road scheme consists of a combination of Guided Busways and Bus Lanes together with pedestrian and cycling facilities. The inbound section of Bus Lane run from Croft Street to Bowling Old Lane and Mayo Avenue to Odsal Top and the outbound guideway runs from Bowling Old Lane to Mayo Avenue. The points where buses leave these facilities to enter into the general traffic on the approach to junctions are controlled by traffic signals.

Measures improving bus stops, shelters, lighting and information about bus services are part of the development. First are committed to providing modern buses on the corridor, which will give them priority to bypass congestion and minimise delays often experienced at junctions.

External links

• First in Bradford