Mayor’s first step to change on the buses
BRABIN UNLOCKS GOVERNMENT FUNDING TO PRESS AHEAD WITH PLAN
WEST Yorkshire’s new mayor is pressing ahead with plans to transform bus services, starting with unlocking a share of £3bn in funding from Westminster.
Tracy Brabin, who has just finished her first week as mayor, set out plans to form an enhanced bus partnership, which will unlock a crucial portion of the funding government has put aside to help buses recover from the pandemic.
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which she chairs, will work more closely with bus operators and will be given greater control over how public money is spent – including on how to make travel cheaper.
Earlier this year, the government released its national bus strategy and asked metro mayors to spell out their plans for their region’s bus network.
The move to an enhanced partnership will allow the mayor to take advantage of the Whitehall funding immediately while long-term plans for a franchise model are developed.
During her campaign for West Yorkshire mayor Ms Brabin committed to bringing buses back under public control – a move already taken by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.
Ms Brabin said: “I told the people of West Yorkshire that improving our buses through greater public control would be a priority and I am really excited that I have started delivering on that commitment. I want us to make sure we are accessing the funding and the powers that are available to make improvements for passengers as quickly as possible.
“As someone taking the bus to work every day I share the frustrations of passengers in many of our communities and the course I’ve set today will give passengers a much stronger voice in the way services are run while unlocking funding to drive up standards.
“However, I am also clear incremental change is not enough and we will also be urgently progressing the detailed work that needs to be done to make the case for bus franchising.”
On her second day in the job, Ms Brabin tweeted her frustration about her own bus journey into work.
“Second day in job as #WestYorkshireMayor & heading to work on the bus. Timetable online doesn’t match actual arrival/journey times, no information at bus stops (bus number would help).
“15 min drive 1hr+ on the bus. We must be able to do better than this.”