£180m to be invested in expansion of Leeds bus services

Proposals have been made to invest more than £180m will be invested in bus services in Leeds to double passenger numbers within 10 years.

The details were revealed as part of the new Leeds Transport Strategy to be released later today, which would see a total of £270m of improvements made to the public transport networks in the city.

Following on from Monday’s announcement on rail improvements with new stations serving Leeds Bradford Airport and at the White Rose Centre and Thorpe Park, Leeds City Council has today confirmed significant investment is also proposed to transform bus services.

Bus operator First West Yorkshire has pledged to invest £71m to provide 284 new state-of-the-art buses for its Leeds fleet by the end of 2020. The new buses will be low Euro VI or zero-emissions vehicles which will improve air quality in the city by reducing NOx emissions by 87%.

Leeds City Council is also in talks with other bus operators about additional investment in their services.

This partnership approach, including all bus companies, is aiming to increase demand, encourage more people to use public transport and improve air quality in the city.

The new buses would be complemented by infrastructure improvements part-funded from the £173.5m of Department of Transport funding secured following the decision not to proceed with the New Generation Transport (NGT) trolleybus in May, with the funds needing to be invested in public transport before the end of 2021.

Additional public and private investment would also be available, such as from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and developer contributions.

The need to provide improved bus services with better reliability, faster journey times and a more integrated network connecting communities was one of the priorities identified from the recent survey as part of the transport conversation in Leeds.

Bus travel is the most used form of public transport in Leeds, with 15% of working residents travelling by bus and 250,000 bus trips being made per day in the city. They also provide a service to those without a car, which is currently approximately one-third of households in Leeds.

The new Leeds Transport Strategy has been supported and guided by the new Leeds transport advisory panel. The panel is chaired by director of strategy for transport for the North, Nigel Foster, and includes transport experts and senior figures from transport bodies and organisations, along with representatives from the worlds of business, education, planning, accessibility, equalities and campaign groups.

It also forms part of the wider regional strategic economic plan which aims to deliver up to 36,000 new jobs and an additional £3.7bn of economic output by 2036 in the Leeds City Region.

Councillor Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “We know bus travel is an essential way of getting around in Leeds and people have told us they want to see improved services, infrastructure and capacity.

“They also want to see improvements quickly, alongside longer term proposals. Together with First West Yorkshire, bus operators and partners in the city, we have set out the ambitious aim of doubling the number of people using the bus in the next 10 years along with improving air quality.

“We think that our ambitious target is achievable by delivering on these changes to offer an improved and more reliable network as well as increasing local services to help bring all communities closer together and connect people more easily to jobs.

“The demand for more park and ride schemes like Elland Road shows drivers are willing to leave their cars in order to get on buses if they are efficient and reliable. In environmental terms these changes and using new technology will ease congestion and improve air quality.

“As part of the overall strategy these improvements would help get all of Leeds moving and be better connected which is the key to increased productivity and the future growth of the city and regional economy.”