Revealed: Harrogate's flagship No 36 route is to return to six buses an hour to Leeds after Harewood Bridge repairs

The boost for passengers follows the early finish to major repairs at Harewood Bridge which led to diversions and longer routes for the popular Harrogate to Leeds service.

Hailing the return of the 36 to every 10 minutes to and from Leeds, The Harrogate Bus Company General Manager Steve Ottley said: “The Harewood Bridge closure meant we had to follow a diversion between Harewood and Pannal, with extended journey times.

"To deliver the service within the resources available to us, we reduced the service to run up to four journeys an hour between Harrogate and Leeds.

“The repairs have now been completed and so we can return to running six buses an hour, with a service every 10 minutes on Monday to Saturday daytimes.”

The increased service is part of a series of ongoing improvements Harrogate Bus Company is making to its Harrogate network, with a range of changes to the timetable prior to the bridge closure in July.

Other changes to The Harrogate Bus Company’s services from Sunday, 3 September will include

The 1: Harrogate – Knaresborough: In response to traffic congestion on the busy Knaresborough Road, changes will be made to improve reliability. The service will continue to run up to every 10 minutes on Monday to Saturday, as now

The 2: Harrogate – Bilton: Minor changes to departure times from The Knox to Harrogate

The 8: Harrogate – Knaresborough – Wetherby: New times for some afternoon journeys on Monday to Friday. No changes to Saturday times

School Buses 620H, 720H, S2, S3, S6, S8 and S36: Timetable changes to help buses run reliably and in line with school start and finish times.

Leeds City Council engineers completed waterproofing, resurfacing and footpath repairs on the structure of Harewood Bridge a week ahead of schedule.

The bridge reopened on Friday, 18 August, with buses on the 36 returning to their regular route the same day.

For all the new timetables, visit: https://www.transdevbus.co.uk/harrogate/

Or download the ‘Transdev Go’ mobile app