"Passengers come first": Bus shake-up could change how West Yorkshire travels
Operators are being invited to bid to help run the region’s new bus Weaver Network.
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority has opened a “dynamic market” for potential providers, setting out strict criteria to raise service standards, improve reliability, and deliver better value for passengers.
A new West Yorkshire-wide, franchised network will see bus fares, routes and timetables set by the CA, with bus operators accepted and registered onto the dynamic market invited to bid for contracts to run services.
This is our opportunity to challenge operators to show us what they can offer as part of a new system where the passenger comes first.
The work will ensure West Yorkshire becomes only the third area in the country, after Manchester and Liverpool city regions, to start the process of signing up operators to run franchised services.
Coun Susan Hinchcliffe, chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transport Committee, said: “We are eager to see franchised services running as soon as possible, and the new dynamic market ensures we are on the road to better buses.
“This is our opportunity to challenge operators to show us what they can offer as part of a new system where the passenger comes first.
“I invite operators large and small to get in touch and get involved, and help us to create a better-connected West Yorkshire.”
It is hoped the first contracts can be awarded in Spring/Summer 2026, to start in 2027.
The Yorkshire Evening Post reported earlier this year that the new Weaver Network is inspired by the region's industrial textile past and cultural heritage and was decided on by the Combined Authority following collaboration with poet laureate and West Yorkshire resident Simon Armitage.
The new brand was officially unveiled by Mayor Tracy Brabin and West Yorkshire's five council leaders in May.
Speaking at the time, Ms Brabin said: “For too long, our region has suffered from a disjointed, confusing, and increasingly hard to navigate public transport system.
“The Weaver Network is a fresh, modern identity for transport in West Yorkshire, reflecting our greater powers through devolution, as well as our ongoing work to bring buses back under public control and create a fully-integrated mass transit network.
“This will help us on our journey to creating a transport system that is easier to use, and demonstrates our ambition to create a better-connected region that works for all.”