The route connects Manchester and Leeds utilising a fleet of refurbished single-deckers which feature USB charging points and WiFi
Transdev has launched a new Cityzap express service between Leeds and Manchester.
The operator held a Guy Fawkes Night-themed launch celebration, under the title ‘Pride of the North.’ The service will use a fleet of four refurbished Wrightbus Eclipse-bodied Volvo B7RLEs in Cityzap livery.
Among those invited to join the celebration were Dave Pearson, Director of Transport Services at West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA); Alison Chew, Interim Head of Bus Services at Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM); and Peter Molyneux, Strategic Road Network Director at Transport for the North (TfN).
Dave Pearson said: “We’re hearing lots about the government’s Northern Powerhouse, which for the most part is focusing on investing in rail and the long term associated infrastructure. With the Bus 18 initiative of which Transdev is part of, we’re focussing on what we can do now. How do we connect Leeds and Manchester, with more and better options?
“Cityzap is here now, not in 2025 – we’re already doing it today.
TfGM’s Alison Chew commented: “It’s great to see the investment represented here today. Cross boundary routes such as Cityzap are crucial to the economy and for bringing people into Greater Manchester, where one in four journeys to work are made by bus.”
Peter Molyneux added: “TfN welcomes Transdev’s investment in Cityzap. The more that we can demonstrate that there are flexible, reliable options for travelling between our major cities, the more we can free up capacity on our road network. Cityzap represents a real alternative to driving, offering people a real opportunity to give up their cars.”
Transdev CEO, Alex Hornby, said: “We’re very excited about the launch of our second Cityzap route, which fulfils our vision to improve city to city connections across the North.
“We created Cityzap following extensive customer research across the UK and Europe, which revealed that customers’ view of bus travel suffered due to the perception that even though buses linked major cities, the number of stops served along the route made it difficult for the bus to compete effectively against the car and the train.
“The launch of Cityzap complements our other investments across the North this year. We’ve launched a staggering 12 new and revitalised brands across Yorkshire and Lancashire, with 44 brand new buses representing a £6.82m investment in vehicles in 2017 alone.”
The new Cityzap express began on November 5 and offered a launch deal of £1 fares for all single journeys in the first week. There are also discount fare deals for students, university staff and NHS workers.
Each Cityzap bus provides leather seats, USB power points at every seat and free WiFi.
