West Yorkshire bus concerns to be raised with government

Bus companies have been criticised for making huge pay-outs to shareholders at a time when job seekers are being 'locked out' of employment opportunities by 'unreliable and unaffordable' public transport.
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The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) presented a study to the authority’s transport committee on Friday in which they claim public transport holds back low-income families from achieving a better standard of living.

She added: “Growth is happening in West Yorkshire, the jobs are there for people and people need reliable, affordable transport, so we will write to the DfT (Department for Transport) in conjunction with your (the JRF) report.”

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Other members of the committee expressed their own concerns about the reliability and affordability of public transport being a barrier to employment.

Wakefield Council leader, Coun Peter Box, said: “For a lot of people, the quality of their life depends on good transport links and I think we need to look at what we can do.”

He said that in the south east of his district a lot of people are unable to get to where jobs have been created and so maybe politicians could look at how some jobs could be moved out of city centres.

Kirklees councillor Martyn Bolt said local authorities had invested heavily in cycle lanes and so if the combined authority wants to overcome transport barriers it should look beyond just bus service efficiencies.

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“Let’s look in the round at what this authority wants to do and not just look at buses,” he said.

Coun Groves, who represents people in the Middleton Park area of Leeds, responded: “Rest assured that we are taking cycling very seriously on this board and that it shouldn’t be the Cinderella of transport, but what I would say, it is really clear wherever you go in the country, there needs to be a radical review of the bus services.

“It’s not acceptable when people can’t get to work but buses are running round cities and towns full of fresh air and no people on them. Bus services need to work more smartly.”

The combined authority is currently pursuing a formal alliance with bus companies in order to increase bus use and improve passenger satisfaction.