Passengers and campaigners are calling for the key bus service to be restored to its former frequency.
Passengers and campaigners want the X84 route, linking Ilkley, Otley and Leeds, restored to a 30-minute timetable after cuts in early 2025 left buses running every 40 to 45 minutes.
Delays and cancellations have made journeys unpredictable, with residents reporting missed connections and significantly longer travel times.
Elisabeth Jennings, a regular user from Burley-in-Wharfedale, said: "It is a complete nightmare if you have a crucial hospital appointment or vital onward connection.
"You can’t be sure if your bus is going to turn up and a cancellation can mean up to an hour and half between services.
"Yet this a busy, heavily populated route serving a population of around 40,000 people, many of whom don’t have access to a car.
"Older people and those with disabilities suffer most from slower journeys and poor connectivity.
"But young people suffer reduced access to higher education and jobs, and this can ruin employment prospects."
Ms Jennings has raised the issue with her MP, Anna Dixon, and criticised West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin for failing to deliver on her 2021 pledge to improve local bus services.
She also pointed out that new housing developments along the route are increasing demand, not reducing it.
Colin Speakman, a local resident and chair of Action for Yorkshire Transport, said: "The X84 is now mainly used by people who have no other travel choice.
"Poor public transport encourages greater car use which leads to yet further congestion, pollution and travel chaos.
"Service frequency and journey times along this corridor are now at a worse level than they have been for at least 100 years, to a time when Otley had a good local train service to Leeds, trams operated as far as Guiseley and there was a trolley bus service to Burley-in-Wharfedale."
Mr Speakman welcomed plans for the Weaver bus network but warned it will not launch until 2028.
He warned that delays would continue to hurt the local economy and restrict access to jobs, education and leisure.
He said: "West Yorkshire Combined Authority seems powerless to act.
"It also needs to get its priorities right.
"Of course, there will be costs to bring the X84 service up to standard, but at a time when WYCA enjoys record spending on well-paid senior staff, producing endless strategies and policies, neglecting its core purpose to maintain a decent bus service along key travel corridors such as the X84 route is simply unforgiveable.
"We hope Mayor Tracy will use her many powers and resources to intervene and give us back the level of service we enjoyed in 2021."
A West Yorkshire Combined Authority spokesperson said: "We have stepped in to support the frequency of the X84 and 34 bus routes in Otley, providing additional evening and weekend services to the timetable which the private operator First currently runs.
"But we know that people want better bus services, which is why we are working to bring them back under public control.
"Our fully-franchised Weaver Network will be rolled out in 2027 and 2028 – when we will have the power to set routes, timetables and fares across the whole of the region so they work better for passengers."
First Bus currently runs the X84 and 34 routes mainly on a commercial basis.
First Bus said its timetable was designed to maximise reliability and punctuality while reflecting road-network constraints and congestion.
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