'Buses need to be more reliable' YEP readers' plea to Leeds transport chiefs
Yorkshire Evening Post readers have called on transport bosses to improve reliability and affordability of bus travel in Leeds - after a damning report revealed almost a million fewer bus journeys have been made in the city.
Transport bosses revealed a dip in passenger numbers in April to June this year compared to the same period in 2024.
West Yorkshire-wide figures show there were 2.3m fewer journeys, an eight per cent decline. In Leeds, bus use was down 6.9 per cent, one of the lowest falls in the region.
But a West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) report said: “However, that still equates to an absolute decline of almost 1m journeys.”
A Leeds City Council scrutiny board was told reductions in services and an increase in ticket prices from the end of March were among reasons for the decline.
Under the West Yorkshire Mayor’s Fares scheme, the cap on single fares rose from £2 to £2.50 and the DaySaver price increased from £5 to £6.
Yorkshire Evening Post readers said that services need to improve in terms of reliability and affordability to tempt people back onto the buses.
Shannon Simone said: “£2.50 for a single journey if you’re only going a few stops isn’t affordable could work out £5 a day just to get to work or get your shopping. They need to bring back cheaper fares if you’re only going a few stops.”
Deborah Thompson said: “Unless you make public transport affordable and reliable you cannot get reduction of the use of cars.
“We used to have buses more or less 24 hours. If you started work at 5.30am there was a bus service of tram (yes I remember trams). Think now save for the future.”
Steve Gilbert added: “Sadly it’s not just something you can rely on to turn up on time every working day. Got a gravel bike instead, takes me 45 minutes to ride the 10 miles to work, 75% of which is off-road. Keeps me relatively fit too.”
Others said that timing of the services need to be looked at to encourage people to use them later in the evening.
Cliff Harker said: “If they want to encourage people to use the buses run a service after the pubs shut and concerts finish You can barely get from the Arena to the bus stop before the last bus goes.
“Reduce the service during the day 10am to 4pm when they are mostly empty, and run more services in the evening and later.”
Jane Hopkins added: “Maybe if they ran on time and they stopped changing the routes or removing less popular routes more people would use them. They stopped the bus I used on Sundays so I then had to get two buses there and two buses back, doubling the cost.”
Dalton Ewen said: “Honestly, I don’t mind paying more for buses however, I am sick to death of only one bus that takes me from my village. I was stranded for two hours last Saturday after a crash on Eastgate. I work really early hours and don’t get home until late. “