We want West Yorkshire to be known around the world as a place where the economy is strong, jobs are plentiful, and everyone enjoys a high quality of life. To make that happen, we need a modern, reliable, and well-connected transport system that makes getting around the region simple, fast, and stress-free.
Life takes us to different places for work, business, leisure, and family – so travel must be easier, faster, and more affordable. West Yorkshire’s mix of vibrant cities, towns, rural areas, and natural beauty is special, but some places are too hard or costly to reach, and fares and information are too complex. This limits opportunities. The Mayor is bringing buses under public control and starting construction of Mass Transit by 2028, aiming for a network where walking, cycling, and public transport are attractive choices. The Local Transport Plan will connect more people to jobs, boost business growth, and attract national and international investment.
Our ambition is to make buses as attractive as possible in comparison to private car use. As the most used public transport mode in West Yorkshire, many already rely on buses for work, education, leisure, and social trips, but we can do better. On 14 March 2024, Mayor Tracy Brabin decided to bring buses under local control through franchising, the biggest transport shake-up in decades, putting communities at the heart of a network that truly meets their needs.
Even with major improvements to trains, buses, walking, cycling and roads, West Yorkshire still needs something new and transformative. That’s why we’re exploring Mass Transit, such as trams, which can run on dedicated routes for greater reliability and capacity. Introducing Mass Transit will help create a truly connected region, cut carbon, link people and places, and boost our economy.
As West Yorkshire grows, we must boost capacity, reliability, and accessibility on our local rail networks. This includes better integration with buses, walking, cycling, and future transport. It also means improving ticketing, information and interchange facilities to deliver consistency across the West Yorkshire rail network.
Rail is vital for a cleaner, greener, well-connected region, working across local and inter-regional services alongside an attractive longer-distance services connecting us across the North and the wider UK. Hundreds of thousands depend on it for work, education, leisure, and social trips. We’re committed to making rail travel easier, greener, and better for everyone.
We’ve now improved access to active travel by adding new walking and cycling routes to make reaching town centres, schools and shops safer, easier and more enjoyable. With two-thirds of journeys being short, increasing sustainable travel can cut car use, reduce traffic, make neighbourhoods more pleasant, and improve health bringing benefits to our places, our environment and our economy. Our ambition is to make walking and cycling the most appealing way to travel short distances across West Yorkshire.
Many of our transport plans aim to encourage people out of their cars by providing comfortable, affordable, and convenient alternatives, but we acknowledge that some people will still need to use them.
Our plans for cars and private transport embrace motoring changes, including a robust Electric Vehicle (EV) charging network, so that car travel reduces in its environmental impact.
We also want to improve the safety of our roads through Vision Zero, so that motorists and other road users feel safer when travelling. Our goal is for safer journeys, less congestion, faster travel, and fewer serious accidents, while ensuring everyone has attractive travel options beyond private vehicles.
Our West Yorkshire Transport Strategy 2040 sets out the steps we’ll take to deliver our vision, from improving public transport and reducing congestion to making travel safer, greener, and more accessible for everyone.
Our objectives focus on:
The Transport Strategy 2040 includes many projects aimed at creating modern, world-class, well-connected, and reliable transport that supports business growth and improves people’s lives.
These projects include reducing vehicle emissions, making roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians, delivering major road improvements, and upgrading our rail and bus stations.
