We need a radical overhaul of our public transport system - YEP letters

I read Laura Collins’ column today (‘Transport is really giving our city a headache’, YEP December 2) and was interested to note that my answer lay within the article itself: “This is an issue that will not go away while Leeds remains one of the biggest Western cities without a mass public transport system.”
Would a complete overhaul of our public transport system ease conngestion on the roads of Leeds?Would a complete overhaul of our public transport system ease conngestion on the roads of Leeds?
Would a complete overhaul of our public transport system ease conngestion on the roads of Leeds?

I am currently resident in Harehills and predominantly use buses to get into the city centre, though rely on my partner to drop me off at the university as part of his commute on poor weather days or where I have early morning commitments.

It takes as long to walk the full distance to the university as to catch two buses into and out of town, but as a young female I feel scared to walk some of my usual journey in the dark - particularly problematic in the winter months.

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This would surely involve it being brought back into public ownership.

In making such changes, infrastructure surrounding the city centre must also start to change from being car-centric to more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.

I find it quite astonishing how difficult and unsafe it feels to walk from the city centre to my home only two miles away.

I have previously lived in Derby and Manchester and not had the same issues in either city.

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I imagine a difficult transition period may have to be implemented in which measures must be implemented to dissuade cars from entering the city centre, in order to encourage more public transport usage in the first instance.

Ultimately, other means of visiting the city centre must become more attractive than car usage, otherwise the problem will only escalate.

Abi Lucas, Harehills