The Government has committed £200 million, which is nowhere near enough for the proposed system. It expects more funding to be generated locally. 

Leeds is the largest city in Europe without a rapid transit system. With climate change now making sustainable public transport even more of a priority than it already was, there is now an urgent case for quality sustainable transport in the Leeds area.

Yorkshire comes out badly from the Integrated Rail Plan, with Northern Powerhouse Rail downgraded to a new Transpennine line, and HS2 to Leeds kicked into the long grass.  The Leeds metro proposal, while welcome and essential, may be seen by some as a poor substitute for more serious investment.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority put forward a Connectivity Infrastructure Plan, and consulted on it in the summer.  Part of the plan is for a mass transit system which would cover nine key travel routes in West Yorkshire and be built over 20 years.

The Combined Authority defines mass transit as bus, tram or tram-train. Railfuture wants a tram solution, with parts perhaps being tram-train. Bus use has been declining for years, and a bus-based solution would not achieve the objectives of a mass transit system for West Yorkshire.  It would simply not offer a high enough quality service and would not achieve the ridership of a light rail solution. 

A bus-based solution would be less sustainable and more polluting – even electric buses use more energy and produce more pollution from tyre wear, and battery buses are much heavier and so use more energy.  There would be obvious comparisons made with Manchester which has a successful quality tram system.  The government is clearly trying to save cash with its Integrated Rail Plan, and they may be tempted to back the cheaper solution. It is essential that a tram-based solution is adopted.

There is a long history of proposals for improved public transport in Leeds, and millions have been spent on studies without any results on the ground. The first attempt to give Leeds a mass transit system dates back to the 1930s when plans were drawn up for a underground rail network.

In the 1990s, Leeds drew up plans for a three-line supertram scheme from Headingley in the north to Tingley in the south and out to Seacroft in the east. Building work was briefly started, but was cancelled in 2005 due to cost increases. The government requested Leeds to come up with a 'bus-based alternative', so the electrically-powered New Generation Transport project (a modern trolleybus) was developed - but was also later cancelled, in 2016, because it didn't connect areas of deprivation/regeneration.

The current proposals are concentrated on the more deprived areas of West Yorkshire.

Whilst this is important for levelling up, climate and congestion reasons mean that routes must also serve other areas which currently have an inadequate public transport offer. The objectives should be to improve connectivity while also reducing pollution and congestion, and providing sustainable transport which helps to cut carbon emissions. Mass transit is an essential part of an integrated public transport system, which must have an integrated ticketing system. Fares must be affordable, with a daily cap. The proposals must be popular with the local people and political support is essential.

One concern is that the proposals are at an early stage. It is essential that they quickly move through the planning stages, and that funding is that made available for a full phased implementation over a period of not more than fifteen years, starting no later than 2025.

One concern is that the proposals are at an early stage. It is essential that they quickly move through the planning stages, and that funding is that made available for a full phased implementation over a period of not more than fifteen years, starting no later than 2025.


West Yorkshire Combined Authority Connectivity Infrastructure Plan