Mass transit system for West Yorkshire: 'Once in a lifetime' plans launched to link major cities

The system, which will see all of the regions major cities linked by an as yet unknown form of mass transit, was one of the targets included in the new West Yorkshire Plan, which was revealed on Friday.

The document shapes what needs to be done between now and 2040 to make the most out of the area’s potential.

It was launched at an event in the Leeds Corn Exchange on Friday morning, an event attended by West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin, and the leaders of all five West Yorkshire councils.

Presenting the plan, Mayor Tracy Brabin said: “At times we in West Yorkshire can let ourselves get overshadowed by other regions, or ignored by Westminster.”

But she said the decision to devolve power to West Yorkshire in 2020 meant the region had a much better chance of determining its own future.

Those in attendance were told it was up to organisations across the region to make sure the plan works, and does not “gather dust.”

One of the main strands of the plan is to improve transport. Bradford Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe, chair of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transport Committee, spoke about the importance of the new mass transit plans, as well as improving bus services.

The Authority recently announced that taking greater control of local bus services was the “preferred option” to improve bus services, and that after a public consultation a decision would be made next year.

Speaking about the ways to improve travel, she said public transport should be the first choice for most people.

Referring to the mass transit system, she said: “This will connect people across the region by 2040.

“We’ll be consulting the public in the next year about the route options. It won’t come cheap, and I urge Government to back our plans in the long term.”

She said the Authority were also still pushing for Government to reverse its decision to scrap the Leeds leg of HS2 and to reinstate plans for a Northern Powerhouse Rail line that would include a stop in Bradford.

WYCA was recently awarded millions for a bus service improvement plan, with the goal of adding to what is already available.

But Coun Hinchliffe said that with government subsidies to bus companies reducing, and companies subsequently proposing cuts to services, there was a danger this pot of cash would be needed to prop up the existing system, rather than improve it. She said: “We might have to use it to subsidise the network, meaning we might not be able to deliver our greater ambitions.”

Referring to the mass transit plans, she pointed out that West Yorkshire was the biggest region in the country without a mass transit system.

Despite an apparent lack of progress on the ambitious plans, she said: “There has been a lot of work over the last few years, and there will be more consultations later this year that will start to crystalise what this mass transit system means and will look like.

“This is a once in a lifetime chance for a new transport system, but we can’t do it overnight.”