Region needs more buses to hold travellers who keep metres apart
MORE BUSES will be needed across West Yorkshire later this year to maintain social distancing, senior councillors have said.
The number of services on the region’s roads is increasing this week as commuters who have been unable to do their jobs from home return to work with lockdown measures being relaxed.
But government cash allowing operators to put more buses on runs out in 12 weeks.
Now councillors say that raises questions about what will happen come September, when social distancing measures will almost certainly still be needed, and have called for more long-term planning.
A drop in services could lead to more crowded buses as more workers become reliant on public transport over the coming months.
Leeds councillor Kim Groves, chairwoman of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s (WYCA) transport committee, said: “It is important to remember that the support being made available by the Government is only designed to restore bus capacity lost during the first phase of the pandemic.
“However, social distancing means significantly more buses will be needed to deliver a reliable service for those who really need it.”
Local politicians have also called on the Government to hand cash for bus services directly to the region’s combined authority, rather than to the private bus operators.
Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake said: “Sadly the Government is prioritising shortterm relief for the bus industry’s strained finances over a longterm managed approach which would help public transport recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.”
West Yorkshire’s five local authorities have also said that they are all working on plans to set aside more road space for cyclists and pedestrians, in a bid to relieve the pressure on public transport.