A KEIGHLEY councillor has described as "horrific" figures which show just 41 per cent of women in West Yorkshire feel safe catching the bus at night.

The data also reveals that more than half of women under the age of 35 have decided to drive or get a taxi instead of catching a bus or train because of fears over crime or harassment.

A survey of over 1,800 people carried out by West Yorkshire Combined Authority asked for opinions on issues ranging from the punctuality of buses to the quality of the region’s roads.

The results were presented to the authority’s transport committee.

One question asked whether people “felt confident in their personal safety while using local buses”. They were asked to respond based on journeys in the day and night.

The majority felt safe in the day – 87 per cent of women and 88 per cent of men.

But with regard to travelling at night, just 41 per cent of women felt safe. The figure for male respondents was 68 per cent.

There was also a lack of confidence about travelling at night from people who were over 65 – with just 43 per cent feeling safe – and disabled people (36 per cent).

Keighley East councillor, Caroline Firth, told the meeting: “These stats are horrific. Women need to feel safe using public transport at night.”

Calling for more work to be done on the issue, she added: “We need to find out if this fear is based on perception or fact. What are the combined authority and the police going to do about this?

“We know that women have less choice to access a car than men.”

Simon Warburton, executive director of transport with the authority, acknowledged that decisions about bus transport were largely made by men.

He said: “Is the transport industry too white and too male? Yes, undoubtedly it is.

“I think where we benefit in West Yorkshire is very strong political leadership that isn’t white and male.”

He added that the authority was “very serious” about getting more women into senior transport roles, and that this would help give a female perspective to issues affecting public transport.

Mr Warburton pointed out that last year West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin had launched a 'safer travel team' – 15 PCSOs, led by a police sergeant – which was patrolling bus stations and buses across West Yorkshire.