BUS and rail passengers will face above-inflation price rises in the New Year.

Metro, which runs services across West Yorkshire, has confirmed fares are going up by about 5% from January 2.

The rises will affect thousands of Huddersfield people who travel on buses and trains and use Metrocards and DayRover tickets.

A Metro spokesman said: “The new prices apply to tickets bought on or after January 2; anyone buying a ticket between Christmas and the New Year will be charged the existing price.

“Both tickets still represent good value for money, especially for those passengers who regularly use buses and trains or buses run by different operators at different times of the day.

“Metro administers the MetroCard and DayRover schemes on behalf of the bus and train operators, and the prices reflect the extra 3% agreed in 2006 to pay for the six additional trains to provide 1,700 additional seats on peak-time train services into and out of Leeds, as well as the increase in fares announced by major operators Arriva and First, which will also start in January”.

The price of a bus MetroCard will go up from £75 to £80 a month and from £20 to £21 a week.