Leeds Station passenger numbers rise above pre-Covid levels despite strike action

The number of people travelling into the city in by train during October and November 2022 was above numbers for the same time period in 2019, council leader James Lewis said. That’s despite strike action crippling rail services across the country for days at a time in recent months.

A council executive board meeting on Wednesday was also told local bus patronage had now reached 90 per cent of pre-Covid levels and that footfall in the city centre has shot up since the start of 2023. On some days since the new year the number of people frequenting the centre has been 50 per cent above the equivalent day in 2022, councillors heard.

Addressing the bus figures, Councillor Lewis said: “Given the standards of service that some of us in the outer areas are experiencing from the private bus companies, I thought those figures were remarkable.

“In October and November we saw more passengers coming through Leeds Station than in October and November in 2019. Certainly my experience of not being able to get on a train at Garforth Station because it was full echoes that.

“It might be different patterns, but the number of people travelling and the amount of footfall in the city centre is back to, if not above, pre-Covid levels.”

The council’s chief executive, Tom Riordan said the news showed Leeds needed more investment in its public transport system from central government.

He told the meeting: “We are actually bucking the trend compared to London in particular. The Leeds transport system and the footfall is increasing faster than elsewhere and this is something we all need to repeatedly make as a point to policy makers based in central London.

“Although they may be experiencing a slower recovery in terms of the return to office and commuting, that’s not taking place in Leeds. We are relatively in quite a good position.”