At the launch event, attendees discussed a range of issues, including ticketing and affordability and the extension of half-fare travel to all under 19s in the area
Almost three million people are commuting to work in West Yorkshire on the bus every week, according to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee Chair Cllr Kim Groves, who spoke at the launch of the West Yorkshire Bus Alliance in Bradford.
The West Yorkshire Bus Alliance sees the coming together of the Combined Authority and bus operators Arriva, First and Transdev, who will be working in unison to improve public transport for passengers.
This will include working on improving bus reliability, improving facilities, ensuring increased carbon-free services, affordable fares, and better travel advice.
At the ‘Big Meet Up’ Cllr Groves was joined by Dwayne Wells, Head of Commercial at Arriva Yorkshire, Paul Matthews, Managing Director of First Bus West Yorkshire, Alex Hornby, Chief Executive at Transdev and Andrew McGuiness from the Association of Bus Operators of West Yorkshire (ABOWY).
It was also attended by local business leaders.
At the event, the attendees discussed a range of issues, including ticketing and affordability, the extension of half-fare travel to all under 19s in the area, investment in clean bus technology and debated highway infrastructure, communication and engagement.
They also discussed West Yorkshire’s successes so far, which includes the popularity of the MCard, the Park & Ride at Elland Road and Temple Green in Leeds, which has helped decrease car journeys by 9,000.
The new West Yorkshire Bus Alliance will last through to 2022, and will be based on legal provisions recently introduced by the Government for Voluntary Partnership Agreements.
Cllr Kim Groves said: “With nearly three million people using them to travel to and from work in West Yorkshire each week, buses do the heavy lifting when it comes to supporting the local economy.
“The county’s 1,000-strong bus fleet carries over four times as many people as local trains each year.
It is vital, therefore that we use this Alliance to ensure the services are attractive not only for existing users but to potential new users who currently travel by car as well as to young people who are the passengers of tomorrow.
“We have already worked together successfully and achieved positive results for passengers through our joint Bus18 initiative and I am pleased that the latest passenger Focus Bus Passenger Survey is showing a rise in overall journey satisfaction by West Yorkshire passengers.
“The new West Yorkshire Bus Alliance is about building on those successes and taking our commitment to better bus services to the next level.”
You can read more Bus News here: cbwmagazine.com/category/news/buses
