The West Yorkshire Combined Authority is seeking feedback on its Connectivity Infrastructure Plan and Mass Transit Vision documents, outlining plans for transport investment over the next 20 years.

“A new mass transit system for West Yorkshire will be a key element of our transport system, linking our communities with a quick and reliable service and integrated with bus, rail, walking and cycling,” said chair of the combined authority’s transport committee Kim Groves, describing it as “a bold investment”.

The proposed system would provide ‘fast, high capacity and direct connectivity’, linking major current and future employment sites, areas of significant new housing, park and ride locations and areas of regeneration.

Opportunities for the as yet unidentified mass transit mode detailed in the documents could see creation of a network joining Leeds with surrounding suburbs, towns and cities including Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield and Wakefield.

Technology options on the table for the service include advanced bus rapid transit, light rail / tram, tram-train and ‘ultra light rail’.

The combined authority emphasises that the system must be zero emission at the point of use and provide an attractive alternative to car travel. Road space may need to be reallocated from cars to allow mass transit to run free from congestion, it says.

West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce chair Nick Garthwaite commented: “For too long, our region has lagged behind others in the UK in transport terms and, looking to European cities, we are decades behind. We need to be ambitious and commit to schemes that enhance connectivity, deliver confidence, yet also contribute to carbon emission reductions.”

He added: “A genuinely deliverable mass rapid transit system is long overdue for West Yorkshire – we hope that its time has now come.”

Further priorities set out for the next 20 years include a focus on bus improvements to encourage 24 million additional journeys a year on buses by 2033, extending the network of on street and dedicated cycle routes and making the case for major rail electrification and new infrastructure.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority transport lead Judith Blake of Leeds City Council said: “These proposals set out how our existing plans to invest, our future ambitions and major infrastructure projects including HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail come together to deliver the clean, integrated transport system we need to connect our communities to each other and beyond.”

(Image: West Yorkshire Combined Authority)