Weaver Network: West Yorkshire Combined Authority rebrands Metro transport network in Leeds for 'bold new era'
The public transport system in Leeds and across West Yorkshire has been re-branded to mark a “bold new era”.
The current Metro branding, which also includes related identities such as Leeds Park and Ride and CityConnect, is being phased out and renamed the Weaver Network.
The new name is inspired by the region's industrial textile past and cultural heritage and was decided on by West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) 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 at Millennium Square in Leeds on Monday (May 12).
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.”
The branding will be gradually introduced, starting with existing planned replacements at bus stops and stations before it is applied to buses when they are taken under local control from 2027. The branding will then be included on the planned West Yorkshire tram system, for which construction work is due to start in 2028.
It will also be used on active travel schemes like bike lanes and bike hire schemes, and even on some local train routes.
WYCA Transport Committee chair Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe said: “Our role within public transport in the region is constantly evolving – the Metro brand was created in 1974, and our organisation’s roles and responsibilities have changed immeasurably since then.
“With the Mayor's decision to take back control of the bus network, we are now moving towards a fully integrated transport network under one brand, replacing about 19 different brands currently in use. The Weaver Network will reflect a public transport network that the region can be proud of, while helping the public to understand who is responsible for helping them travel to where they need to be."
A decision was taken in January 2025 to retire the Metro brand by WYCA, who say that the move will simply fares, travel information and journey planning.
Simon Armitage, national Poet Laureate and West Yorkshire resident, said: “I was pleased and proud to be part of a conversation about the naming of the future transport network - I’m West Yorkshire born and bred, a public transport user, a geography graduate and a poet - in many ways it was the perfect invitation.
“To me, The Weaver Network name symbolises the threads connecting people with places, shuttling to and fro, built on heritage and creating new ties and links.”
A report setting out the transition from the Metro to the Weaver Network brand will be brought to a future Combined Authority meeting.