New alliance to carry on improvements on West Yorkshire's buses
9 November 2018
West Yorkshire Combined Authority renewed its commitment to improve bus services at today's meeting of its Transport Committee by seeking a formal alliance with bus operators to deliver increased bus use and improved customer satisfaction.
In 2017, the Authority set out its Bus Strategy seeking to use the provisions of the Bus Services Act to improve services for West Yorkshire's passengers. The Bus18 partnership was the first stage in this process and has enabled bus companies Arriva, First and Transdev and the Combined Authority to forge a closer working relationship.
Benefits to passengers
Bus18's benefits to passengers have including the newly introduced, money-saving £2.60 MyDay ticket for young people, and measures to compensate passengers unhappy with their bus journey or whose last bus doesn't arrive within 20 minutes of the scheduled time.
Keen to maintain the close ties that have resulted from Bus18, while working with the bus companies to achieve significant increases in passenger numbers and benefits to passengers in terms of value for money and service quality, the Combined Authority has agreed work to develop a more formal Alliance that will start next year.
Alliance
Cllr Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee said: "The Combined Authority and local authorities are committed to increasing bus patronage by 25% across West Yorkshire and doubling it in Leeds and we will need to work closely with bus companies to achieve this."
"In time, this will be supported by a statutory arrangement between the bus operators and the Combined Authority, in the meantime we can't stand still."
"We have formed a positive and close working relationship to develop benefits for bus users, particularly young people, and seen new levels of cooperation that did not exist previously and now we are developing a formal alliance with bus operators, which sets out clear actions and targets for all parties."
"I am pleased with the progress made through Bus 18 including the new MyDay ticket was developed with young people's groups including the Leeds Youth Council and customer pledges to safeguard services for customers."
"To build on this, the next steps will be drawing up a delivery plan and setting out what customers can expect by 2021, for approval by the Transport Committee in the new year."