This blog post has been written by Luke Aylward, Autism AIM’s Information Officer.
As you may or may not have heard, the Bradford Interchange Bus Station is currently closed for repairs. This is due to damage caused by extreme weather in January 2024 and it will be closed until September 2024 at the earliest. Please note that the train station part of Bradford Interchange is still open.
A result of this closure is that many bus routes normally heading to Interchange are now stopping at different bus stops. Many of these are in different parts of the City Centre, which has made bus travel in Bradford more difficult.
Being autistic and still fairly new to Bradford, I am one of many who does a double take before realising the bus station is closed when going into and out of town. However, I have a few ideas for making bus travel simpler until the Interchange Bus Station reopens.
Info from Metro: Construction works in City Centre
From Sunday 14th April, some bus stops in Bradford City Centre will no longer be in use. This is because some streets will become fully pedestrianised, including Market Street, Bank Street, Hall Ings and parts of Bridge Street. More information on those and other changes to the City Centre can be found here: Future Bradford.
A full list of new bus stops for services going into and out of the City Centre is now available on the West Yorkshire Metro website at this link:
There are maps from West Yorkshire Metro with further information on routes and new bus stops:
Edit: On the weekend of 18th-19th May, some bus stops in the City Centre are changing. More information on this, including a map of locations of the new bus stops and where bus routes will be going through the City Centre can be found here: Bradford bus stop changes from 19th May
The bus stop on Vicar Lane going southbound (Little Germany Y) has now been reopened as of early July 2024. The 613, 614, 635, 640, 641, 643, 645, 671 and 686 services all stop here, going southbound.
For up-to-date info on any changes to bus routes, please visit this link: Metro | Current bus alerts
Travel apps
Even though Bradford is served by several different bus operators – First, Arriva, Transdev and TLC all come to mind – travel apps from some of the operators can help you to navigate your way around the city. First’s app lists live departure times, as does the YourNextBus feature on Metro’s website.
Arriva, who run services between Bradford, Wakefield, the Spen Valley and Dewsbury, have an app of their own. Transdev, who run services that go from Bradford to Shipley, Bingley, Keighley and Saltaire, have launched their new Transdev Go app. There is also the Moovit app, as well as Google Maps, that show departure times. Here is a list of links to those apps and tools:
The apps all have journey planner features, as do online maps such as Google Maps, Bing Maps and Apple Maps.
Safe journey cards
If you’re anxious about getting on a bus or need reassurance that you’re on the right one, some bus operators have free safe journey cards that you can show to the driver. These have a range of different messages, including ones about hidden disabilities like autism.
First Bus and Arriva both have these cards, that can be printed and cut out at home. Click on the links below to access them.