Mayor reveals plans to slash Leeds bus fares with passengers to pay £2 per journey from September

As well as single fares, the multi-operator WY DaySaver tickets available through the MCard app and smartcard will be reduced from £5.50 to £4.50 from September.

Funding for new bus routes to reconnect as many communities as possible left isolated by service changes over recent years will also be made available.

The proposals build on West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s revised Bus Service Improvement Plan, submitted to the Department for Transport earlier this month.

The new £2 maximum fare will be negotiated with the bus operators through the new West Yorkshire Enhanced Partnership, which started on April 1 this year.

“When I became Mayor a year ago, I promised to make bus fares simpler and cheaper across West Yorkshire. Through our new Enhanced Partnership with bus operators that’s exactly what we’re doing." said, Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire.

“I want people to see buses as the first choice for the journey they want to make. The investments we’re making to reduce fares, develop new routes and introduce new zero emission buses mean they will be a cost-effective environmentally-friendly way to travel in West Yorkshire for years to come.”

Travellers will now be able to hop on a bus from Marsh to Lindley, Bradford to Keighley or Halifax to Leeds for as little as £2.

Coun Susan Hinchcliffe, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, said:

“The cost of living crisis demands bold action. So this is an ambitious plan for urgent times from the Mayor and West Yorkshire leaders.

“I remain concerned however that Government in September is still planning to cut the Bus Recovery Grant which has kept bus operators going during the pandemic while bus passenger numbers have been lower. We will keep lobbying government on this.

“Sustaining economic recovery is going to need all our efforts and resources both at regional and national level. Buses are a key part of our economic recovery plans and we will do all we can with the funding available to improve services.”

If the plans are approved by the Department for Transport later this year, the new £2 maximum fare will be the first scheme delivered under West Yorkshire’s Enhanced Partnership.