My Leeds commuter diary: What it's like travelling on the city's bus network

As a commuter at the mercy of the city's bus network, I'm regularly flustered or furious by the time I arrive late to the office or back home at the end of a long day.
Around 250,000 bus trips are made in Leeds every day, according to the council.Around 250,000 bus trips are made in Leeds every day, according to the council.
Around 250,000 bus trips are made in Leeds every day, according to the council.

There’s often something to grumble about whether it’s the tired old “You wait for a bus and two come along...”, arrival times counting down on departure screens only for no buses to materialise, or the chaos caused by roadworks and accidents.

My daily journey of just under three miles requires either two First Leeds services with a change near Vicar Lane to make it almost door-to-door, or just one bus and a 20 minute march across the city centre.

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I anticipate that I’ll have plenty of material with two weeks’ of travel to draw from, but the bus Gods are looking favourably upon me on day one. Drivers pull in when they see me inelegantly dashing for bus stops, the connections work seamlessly, the bus lane in Chapeltown helps us make swift progress and my journey takes the 35 minutes promised both ways. The only frustration is the erratic First Leeds app, which crashes repeatedly before I’m able to load my monthly ticket for the driver.

If it was always this easy, it would surely be less of an uphill struggle to persuade regular commuters that a monthly pass at the equivalent £2.80 per weekday is actually great value.

But the next day’s journey home, via an evening class, is the first in a series of unwelcome reminders about why so few people leap to the defence of First Leeds and others.

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I stand at Sheepscar Interchange for well over 20 minutes, oblivious to the fact a pedestrian has been knocked down near the previous stop. The road is closed, buses are being diverted and missing out my stop, and there’s nothing on the online live departure facility or the WY Metro and First Leeds Twitter feeds to warn people.

First Leeds has introduced mobile phone ticketing and contactless payments in a bid to reduce the time it takes passengers to board.First Leeds has introduced mobile phone ticketing and contactless payments in a bid to reduce the time it takes passengers to board.
First Leeds has introduced mobile phone ticketing and contactless payments in a bid to reduce the time it takes passengers to board.
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Eventually another passenger clues me in and I take a circuitous route home, cursing the lack of useful updates for passengers.

Day four sees the longest wait so far for the first of my morning buses. They’re meant to arrive every 10 minutes or less, but it’s 12 minutes before one arrives with two more immediately behind it and I’m late for work.

The next day, I’m witness to another passenger’s frustration as he tries to buy a ticket with a £10 note. The driver has just come on shift and says he has no change, and the offer of a credit note does not go down well. Eventually the unhappy customer accepts, loudly complaining that he doesn’t want to wait even longer for another bus and we set off late.

First Leeds plans to invest in new buses which are ultra-low emission and include features such as free WiFi.First Leeds plans to invest in new buses which are ultra-low emission and include features such as free WiFi.
First Leeds plans to invest in new buses which are ultra-low emission and include features such as free WiFi.

Wednesday brings queues at my New Briggate stop, with passengers waiting well over 15 minutes for the First Bus 2/3 service while around 10 buses for two other routes pull in at neighbouring stops. At one point there are four 12/13 buses all jostling for position at a single stop.

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This is small fry though compared to the utter chaos to come the next day when a balcony fire at a block of flats opposite Leeds bus station and the resulting road closure brings the city centre to a standstill. The usual congestion would be a merciful relief. When a bus eventually arrives, the equally frustrated driver jokes that he’s doing pretty well at just 75 minutes behind schedule.

If more people are going to start seeing the bus as an affordable and realistic alternative to driving into our city centre, the council and transport providers must deliver on this week’s promises about reliability, simple ticketing and real-time information. Otherwise, it will just be another failed transport vision to add to the already sizeable list.