Travel by car and by public transport in West Yorkshire is returning to pre-pandemic levels
Travel by car and by public transport in West Yorkshire is returning to pre-pandemic levels, people’s confidence in using public transport has been maintained, and the shift to hybrid working caused by COVID-19 is likely to become permanent.
29 November 2021
Travel by car and by public transport in West Yorkshire is returning to pre-pandemic levels
Travel by car and by public transport in West Yorkshire is returning to pre-pandemic levels, people’s confidence in using public transport has been maintained, and the shift to hybrid working caused by COVID-19 is likely to become permanent.
Those are some of the findings of the latest COVID-19 Transport Recovery Survey by West Yorkshire Combined Authority which looks at the impact of the pandemic on travel in the region.
The research was conducted between 28 September and 13 October 2021 and the results are now available for publication. This is the sixth survey of its type. The series began in June 2020.
Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin said:
“This survey gives us a great insight into how people in West Yorkshire are travelling, as we emerge from the pandemic. The results reveal some encouraging signs of recovery in terms of public transport use.
“They also show that, contrary to recent claims by the Government in their Integrated Rail Plan, the numbers of people using public transport do mean that it’s vital we deliver a system with adequate capacity to cope with future demand.
“And it’s also still vital that we encourage even more people back onto buses and trains; and to cycle and walk more, to reduce emissions from transport and deliver our pledges to tackle the climate emergency and protect our environment,
“The Bus Service Improvement Plan we recently launched, and our Future Mobility Strategy will help us deliver improved public transport and active travel in the region, so that more people see them as attractive and highly-effective options for work and leisure.
“We have also set out long-term plans for investment in our Connectivity Infrastructure Plan programme. This aims to deliver public transport improvements where they are most needed to enhance people’s quality of life.
“It is built on detailed evidence and includes our bold and ambitious plan for a new mass transit system for West Yorkshire.”
The full results of the survey can be viewed here and the results of previous surveys are available in full here.
The wearing of face coverings on public transport will once again become compulsory from Tuesday 30 November following a Government announcement.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority have been running a COVID-19 Transport Recovery Survey series since June 2020, and this is the 6th wave. The Combined Authority carries out the research to understand how the pandemic has changed working and travel patterns and to assess longer-term trends that influence transport planning. The research involved a randomly selected, statistically representative sample of 1,000 people from West Yorkshire’s communities who were interviewed by telephone.