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Weaver Network Board
Thursday, 23rd July 2026 at 11:00am

 
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  1. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  2. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
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Share this agenda point
  1. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  2. Cllr Councillor Andrew Judson Bradford Council
  3. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
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  1. Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council
  2. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
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Share this agenda point
  1. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  2. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  3. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  4. Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council
  5. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
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  1. Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  2. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  3. Cllr Bob Felstead Chair - Scrutiny Committee
  4. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  5. Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  6. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  7. Cllr Eleanor Thomson (Leeds City Council)
  8. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  9. Cllr Eleanor Thomson (Leeds City Council)
  10. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  11. Cllr Eleanor Thomson (Leeds City Council)
  12. Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council
  13. Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  14. Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  15. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  16. Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  17. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  18. Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council
  19. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  20. Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council
  21. Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  22. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  23. Cllr Councillor Darren Commons Calderdale Council
  24. Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  25. Cllr Councillor Darren Commons Calderdale Council
  26. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  27. Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  28. Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  29. Cllr Eleanor Thomson (Leeds City Council)
  30. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  31. Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council
  32. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  33. Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  34. Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  35. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  36. Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  37. Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  38. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  39. Cllr Councillor Andrew Judson Bradford Council
  40. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  41. Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  42. Cllr Councillor Andrew Judson Bradford Council
  43. Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  44. Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  45. Cllr Councillor Darren Commons Calderdale Council
  46. Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  47. Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  48. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  49. Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  50. Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  51. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
Share this agenda point
  1. Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  2. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  3. Cllr Councillor Andrew Judson Bradford Council
  4. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  5. Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  6. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  7. Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council
  8. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  9. Cllr Councillor Darren Commons Calderdale Council
  10. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  11. Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  12. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  13. Cllr Eleanor Thomson (Leeds City Council)
  14. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  15. Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  16. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  17. Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council
  18. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
  19. Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council
  20. Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire

Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:00:00
Good morning, everybody.
Really good to see you all.
On the first Weaver board meeting, another big
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:00:08
milestone for us as a region.
Very excited to be here.
It's the new governance structure in the combined
authority, and I really do look forward to working with
all of you on delivering that integrated transport
system that we all want to see and deliver on our
Weaver network plan.
New faces around the room, so again congratulations on your election and I

1 Apologies for Absence

look forward to working with you closely to deliver and it's always very pleasing

2 Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:00:38
Cllr Councillor Andrew Judson Bradford Council - 0:00:41
to see Councillor Felstead as chair of the Scrutiny Committee here to keep us
all on point. Thank you so much Councillor for coming.
Okay Vanessa any apologies? Thank you. Any declarations of interest?
Yes, Councillor Judson.
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:00:57
Yes, just for clarity, I was approached and had an introductory meeting with First Bus.
They came to my offices in Bradford. I am keeping an open mind on everything I have
told them. I am completely impartial to all of this. I cannot help them in any way. It

3 Exempt Information - Possible Exclusion of the Press & Public

was just an introductory. So nothing was discussed but I just wanted to bring that to the attention
of the board. Thank you.
I appreciate that and of course they are stakeholders across Bradford so it's sensible that they
reached out to you. So thank you for that, Councillor Johnson.
Item 3, exclusion of press in public. There are no exempt items today, which means we

4 Minutes of the Meeting of the Transport Committee held on 29 January 2026 (For noting only)

press on as normal. And I'd just like to say thank you to the members of the public that
have joined us today to hear what we have to say at the Weaver Board. I know that you
want a brilliant bus network as much as I do, so thank you for your contribution outside
of this building.
Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council - 0:01:51
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:01:52
Okay, moving on minutes of the meeting held on the 29th of January 2026.
Of course, that was the Transport Committee in January.
None of us were there at that meeting.

5 Chair's Update

You were there, Peter, Councillor Carlhill.
So maybe it's worth you saying if you're content with the minutes.
As far as I recall, yeah, they're all fine.
Thank you.
It was a long time ago, so thank you very much.
Okay.
So moving on, the Chair's update.
So yesterday's Prime Minister's announcement,
the £2 fair, that's going to be the boss fair cap
from the 1st of January, 2027, lasting right through
to the 31st of December.
And I've been informed that there'll be a conversation
with mayors about how government can support
boss fairs into 2028 and beyond.
And you will all know that this also builds on the
announcement about free bus travel for children over the summer. We want to get
more people using busses and cost is often, as the public tell us, a
disincentive. I also very pleased that September 2022 we introduced the
Mayor's Fair, the two -pound capped bus fare across West Yorkshire and I know
certainly door -knocking how significant that was for our communities and that
We tried really hard to keep it below the three pound cap that came in across the rest
of the country, keeping it at two pound fifty because we know it helps communities with
the cost of living crisis.
So we're still working on the implications for this new two pound cap on our own fair
policy and strategy and we hope that we can share that with members over the coming months.

6 Governance Arrangements

It's a really strong policy and it's consistent to what we saw in Greater Manchester with
Andy Burnham, about ensuring that the public have clarity
and simplicity in the fair offer.
And I know that this announcement will benefit
passengers in West Yorkshire and beyond.
Okey -doke.
Let's move on to governance arrangements.
This is about governance of the Weaver Network Board.
We still, unfortunately, don't have the full
complement of members, as we still need to appoint
political balance members.
I'm pleased that Kirklees have settled their structures, but we do need those balanced
members as well.
And we'll all welcome them, I'm sure, when they join us at the next meeting.
So Nicky Deal, our Assistant Director of Legal Governance and Compliance, could you introduce
the report, please?
Thank you, Nicky.
Thank you, Mayor.
So the first item in your papers relates to the governance arrangements for this board.
This is a new board that was constituted following a governance review.
The terms of reference that are enclosed were approved at the annual meeting on the 25th
of June.
Now, the terms of reference set out a broad remit of the duties of you as members in your
decision making in regards to the operational aspect of transport and oversight of programmes,
most notably Weaver Network and the integrated travel that will be formed as a consequence
of that, alongside major schemes like mass transit and of course bus franchising as well.
The Toes of Reference sets out the membership of engagement and also the members and as
the Mayor has set out we are currently awaiting formalisation of those balanced members.
We do have the nominations but they need to be ratified at the combined authority at the
end of this month. But we do have Councillor Luke Feless who's been appointed by Kirk Lees
as the representative for that constituent council, alongside Councillor John Hardy who
will be your substitute. The papers also set out the specific arrangements with regards
to quorum. You'll note that in your papers. And it's important that I set out that in
terms of voting, there is a specific change to voting arrangements which you may not be
familiar with given the changes under the Devolution Act, and that is by way of simple
majority. But within that simple majority and for the recommendation to pass, the Mayor
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:06:06
or the deputy mayor acting in her absence must be within that majority for that resolution
to pass.
Mayor, the recommendations are and the papers are set out for noting and I'm happy to take
any questions.
Thank you.
Just one for me.
I'd like to introduce Councillor Eleanor Thomson as the deputy chair of the Weaver board.
Could you clarify that in my absence it would be the deputy mayor that would attend?
That's correct.
So the Deputy Chair for Weaver Network Board provides the oversight and the strategic support
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:06:37
to the Mayor given the role of Weaver Network and given its broad remit.
In the event that the Mayor is not available, it will be the Deputy Mayor, the statutory
Deputy Mayor that would be taking place in order for quorum to be applicable.
Thank you, but I am grateful to Councillor Thomson for stepping into this role.
I don't know any greater advocate for BOSS than Councillor Thomson.
I know many of us are bus users ourselves, but in the campaigning that you have done
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:07:08
over the last five years that I have known you, bus and availability and affordability
and reliability has been your priority.
Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council - 0:07:14
Thank you so much for your advocacy.
Any comments on the governance arrangements?
Councillor Carlile.
Thank you.
I guess as the only former member of the transport committee, I just want to comment to say really
welcome.
Set up with the new board.
It's great to see this.
On the transport committee what members who weren't here previously won't have seen was
in many cases there were lots of decisions we couldn't take.
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:07:42
We weren't moving towards publicly running a bus network across west Yorkshire.
We are now moving towards that, thanks to the mayor's decision.
And seeing the amount of decisions and arrangements we'll be able to take at this board is fantastic
compared to what we previously had at the Transport Committee.

7 Bus Performance Quarterly Update

Thank you. Previously decisions would then go up to the CA, wouldn't they, to be signed
off and there was a delay and we do want to move fast in transport. So thank you for that
contribution. Any further comments? No? Thank you so much,
Nicky. Appreciate that. Let's move on to bus performance quarterly
updates. As members are aware, understanding how the bus network performs now and in the
future is going to be absolutely central to how we ensure Weaver delivers on our collective
ambitions.
This paper sets out the measurable aspects of the bus network performance across our
Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority - 0:08:35
region, provides insights into wider interventions and activities across the network undertaken
by the CA as we prepare ourselves for the launch of the Weaver bus services in May next
year.
Could I ask Tim Taylor, Director of Transport Services, to speak to this item please, Tim?
Thank you, Mayor.
Yes, so good morning everybody.
So this paper as described sets out an approach we took previously at Transport Committee
and it's familiar to Transport Committee members who were present there and it does provide
an update on the overall performance and improvement activities across the bus network.
Before I go into the main details of the report though, I would like to ask members to consider
as part of the presentation what aspects of performance monitoring they would like to
see in future, so very much build on the information that's available here and what kinds of further
attributes of the system they would welcome reports on in future, noting that at the moment
we only have partial information in terms of our ability to see the overall performance
of the system as a whole.
In time, obviously, the level of detail that we'll get through bus franchising will improve,
we'll have more detailed route level specific information and we'll have much more comprehensive
view of the performance of both the network and the contracts that are required to deliver
it.
And this board will be responsible for that oversight in future and members should consider
therefore in that context what's required going forward.
So if I move on to the actual details of the paper itself, the paper sets out what we do
in terms of funding.
So we already have significant amounts of funding going into the bus network, £45 million
per year, just protecting bus services alone.
And that amount of investment only provides us around about 18 % of the network in terms
of control for non -commercial services.
That's a significant proportion of our overall
transport budget goes into protecting and funding
bus services across the region, and that is
partially funded through the transport levy from
which local authorities make their own contribution.
So, moving on to operational insights.
I thought I would just touch on some of the key
highlights within the paper from members, and
again, happy to take further questions on
anything else I don't cover.
As you will see, we continue to see a steady
decline in patronage in terms of year on year, and
that is a continued trend that's happened for a decade or more a year, particularly
compounded by COVID, but again the report sets out the latest patronage trends and it
also gives you then a sense of how that then changes over time by district but also by
passenger type as well, be that adult, senior, disabled or under 19s.
But even with that recrusing demand, we should note that actually some of the attributes
of the system, so both punctuality and reliability have improved.
So punctuality has continued to improve and we are now up to just under 86 percent and
reliability as in the number of services cancelled has dropped significantly.
So 2 .7 percent in Q1 last year to only 1 .3 percent this year.
So an improvement in that aspect of performance.
And as members I'm sure will be familiar, passengers frequently cite both punctuality
and reliability as key aspects of the network that they want to see for their faith and
trust in the system more generally.
I'll move now onto customer insights in the paper.
So, again, we use a wide range of custom feedback
and information to give us a sense of passenger's
perception of the system as a whole.
Firstly, looking at transport focus, the annual survey
that's published earlier this year in March, and we
see that the performance here in West Yorkshire has
improved markedly at 4 percent from the previous
year to 81 percent and 8 percent from 2023.
Recognising that is really good news, but we clearly still need to make improvements
on our lead table position relative to other mayoral regions, such as Greater Manchester
and Liverpool, but we should know that at least one of those regions is now fully franchised
and therefore no great surprise that they have the full control over the system to help
improve passenger perception.
We do see large year -on -year positive improvements in terms of punctuality through that survey,
5 % to 75%, and also waiting time.
So that's increased 12 % since 2023,
so significantly higher than the England average as well.
So positive in that respect.
In contrast, value for money has continued to cause us some
concern, but we've seen obviously great investment
across Mayors Fairs, as the Mayor described in her opening
remarks, and noting that we do still have a fair cap,
50p lower than the national average at this moment in time.
Alongside that piece of work from Transport Focus,
we also conduct our own residence perception
transport survey.
And again, there's a number of attributes and information
there about passenger information there.
And again, I won't dive into those in detail here,
but happy to take further questions.
The next area of the paper that I'd like to draw
members' attention to is around integrated settlement
transport targets.
So, hopefully members are aware that we have to agree
a range of outcome targets as part of our single
settlement with government.
And what I won't do again is dive into specific detail here,
but these are really, you know, key performance indicators for
us as a city region and as a combined authority to make sure
that we can deliver in line with our funding arrangements and,
again, a lot of familiar measures in there in respect of
patronage increasing as well as punctuality and
reliability improvements.
I'll move now on to our, some of our system improvements that
we're making and move on to what we're doing on our M -Card and
Weaver app development.
We have already, you know, great success in our M -Card
ticketing app.
We've got over 110 ,000 active users across the region,
and this is very much going to be used as a launch pad on which
we then develop our Weaver network app ahead of franchising
for next year.
We have got a number of functional improvements planned
for that as well, including voluntary age verification and
a significantly improved journey planning function with
live tracking that would be built into the system as well.
We also improve functionality in terms of payment methodology,
including introduction of digital wallets through Google
Pay and Apple Pay.
Last but not least, I shall move on to the facilities, assets,
and safety aspect of the paper.
And again, members will see and note that we're making
significant capital investment into our bus stations.
You will see reference to investment in the opening,
soon to be opened, Heckman Dwight Bus Station and Dewsby
bus stations later this year and we have now started significant capital investment in
the major refurbishment of Huddersfield bus station as well.
You'll also see that we've now started to instal our first weaver bus stops across
the region and again we'll continue to invest alongside those in our wider assets as well
and again set out some of our ongoing asset commitments in that regard.
And last but not least the paper sets out what we are doing in terms of public perception
of safety and our interventions to support safety of passengers across the transport
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:15:28
network. We continue to invest in our safe travel team, we've been in place now for a
number of years and we'll continue to invest in that team beyond an
interfranchising and make sure that we work with West Yorkshire Police and
other partners focusing on the things that matter to most passengers in that regard.
So I shall stop there, may I have to take questions?
Thank you so much Tim and really detailed paper thank you and of course
this is all available online if people want to look at numbers and so on but I
I do think it is really good that we are focused on the app
in great detail because whilst we can have some of the best
busses in the country where the public have helped us design
those busses, we need to make sure that it's so easy to use
with a sophisticated app that is economically designed and really
Cllr Bob Felstead Chair - Scrutiny Committee - 0:16:20
simple and straightforward.
So bus tracking I think is vital.
I think age verification I think it is will be the first I think in the country
to have that so I do appreciate that that innovation. Open for questions or
just comments. Councillor Felstead. Thank you Mayor. It's just a quick question. So
last year scrutiny looked at works at the Bradford Interchange and there's
obviously quite a lot of lessons learned from that particular exercise in terms
of timings, things like that because it all happened at the wrong time of year.
But a note within the report that we've got an asset condition stated at bullet 3 .44 on
page 38, but there aren't any condition surveys attached to the report which I think are particularly
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:17:12
important for this committee to look at because it's going to affect the amount of capital
Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority - 0:17:18
spend we're going to have to put into some of the bus stations.
So although it's noted and we've got a five year plan, there's nothing for here and now
contained within the report and I think that's something that scrutiny can lend quite a lot
of important help to.
Thank you and as always a critical friend and very welcome contribution.
Thank you Tim.
Yeah I'm very happy.
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:17:38
We did a really detailed and comprehensive condition survey process towards the end of
last year and into the start of this calendar year.
Cllr Eleanor Thomson (Leeds City Council) - 0:17:45
That's produced a priority based condition repair process.
We're working on the party ones as you would expect and again happy to share
the details of that with the members in due course.
Thank you. Councillor Thompson.
Quite a long list. I'll try to be efficient. So 3 .9 in the papers talks about the data sharing.
From experience on the Transport Committee four years ago and many
wrangles over that. I'm not sure how far we've moved forward so certainly
franchising will be a massive step forward in that, wondering what can be done in the
meantime. We were promised data regularly by first, I think we got two sets and then
they stopped again. We did have some success in getting them to budge on things and to
actually cooperate a bit more, but it was very limited. So I've highlighted lots of
bits so I don't want to make sure I don't miss anything.
MS ORTAGUS.
Do you want to go through all the questions then, Tim?
You come back with a link later.
Thank you.
Thank you, Elaine.
Sorry, just a second.
I've been trying to circle things to make sure I don't miss anything.
3 .25, we'll worry about the gender gap in perceptions of security, resorting to using
taxis and the persistent issue that if the last bus doesn't show up, you might be able
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:19:09
to claim for a taxi but you have to be able to afford to book it in the first place and
that there is still nobody to call after 7 o 'clock in the evening. Then, yeah, ongoing
issues with antisocial behaviour at bus stations and…
Just on that point if I may, Eleanor, just while you're looking at the next one, what
was interesting was it is unacceptable antisocial behaviour that the highest increase with our
Cllr Eleanor Thomson (Leeds City Council) - 0:19:37
colleagues in the bus station through Leeds Watch was verbal abuse, but the highest decrease
was for anti -social behaviour. But that may be that we had very high rates anyway, so
we're now back to what could be an acceptable level. But that's just in the papers, so it's
worth keeping that lens in mind. Eleanor.
Thank you. Then 3 .38, really good to see that there's work going on on the MCARD app. I
do use it, but I have to juggle about three other apps if I want to plan a route. And
you are never quite sure which one will actually give you the right information because what's
at the bus stop will often be different from the first app, will be different from, I can't
remember what the other one is, I juggle about four different apps to try and figure out.
What time is that, Areva? Well they don't serve our area but yeah, multiple apps trying
to work out where a bus is, they'll all tell you different things so really welcome the
work on that. Something I have noticed, I think it was in Bedfordshire, they did a trial
of a really simple intervention which was having a QR code on bus stops that you could
scan, didn't need an app and that would just take you direct to the real time bus feed.
I wonder if that might be worth as an interim measure, especially in places where we don't
have real time displays, whether we might look at how successful that's been.
And then finally 3 .49, having been on some very long, very hot bus journeys recently,
the work to look at this. I think there was a report this week about heat in the city,
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:21:05
which doesn't just apply to Leeds and how we respond to those changing extreme weather
patterns, especially with some of the busses on our routes are from 2007, 2008. The heating
Cllr Eleanor Thomson (Leeds City Council) - 0:21:19
works very well, but the cooling does not work at all for the drivers as much as for
the passengers. It's a real concern. Thank you, Councillor Thompson. Just to say
that our new busses have air conditioning. So I was asked on the message to the
Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council - 0:21:32
Mayor about that and I was delighted to be able to say you'll all be cool on the
new busses. Tim do you want to just draw together those queries? Thank you
Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority - 0:21:41
Councillor Thompson. Yeah so I'm just taking those in turn. In respect to the point around data sharing,
share your frustrations, this is ultimately a function of the deregulated
market. Operators are not obliged to share commercial information with anybody,
including ourselves.
Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:21:54
We've made good progress in terms of our sharing agreements
through the bus lines, but again, as I'm sure you'd expect,
franchising will give us absolute and consistent detail
of how individual and collective services perform,
both geographically but by supplier as well,
so each contractor will have a very clear view
through contract arrangements
of just how well they're performing.
And again, back to my opening remarks,
I really want this board to think about
what level of detail we would bring back
to future meetings once we've started franchising
So we can talk through the relative performance and what our future interventions are to drive
performance upwards from there on.
Gender gap and the last bus guarantee, share your concerns.
Again, huge amount of work still required in that space.
We recognise it is a concern and an issue.
We're going to still invest time and effort into looking at that.
We want to look at wider things such as public realm design around bus stops as well, lighting
arrangements and such like.
but also just improve the understanding in terms of the reality of how safe the network
is relative to the actual reality of travelling on it as well.
In terms of the ASB at bus stations, again, recognise this has been problematic in various
parts of our region over time.
This is not unique to West Yorkshire, I hasten to add, but through the kinds of interventions
and the work we do with Leeds Watch, we have a 24 -7 control room already monitoring CCTV
for these reasons as well and further improvements and investment in our travel safety and I'm
sure will help improve that over time.
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:23:24
Welcome your views on the MCARD app and the QR code, again something we can look into
in the timetable design and stock design in future and finally welcome your comments on
our interventions around heat and the temperatures and further things we can do to adapt the
Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority - 0:23:38
system more generally as well.
So thank you, ma 'am.
Thank you.
Tim, I've been using QR codes.
It was a few years ago, but QR codes on bus stops,
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:23:47
was that during COVID?
I think there was a period of time where we
use those for that purpose.
Again, I can go away and cheque now
and we can look at some future interventions, as I say.
Thank you.
And just to draw people's attention just to that data
that we're discussing around confidence of personal safety
using busses during daylight hours.
82 % of women, 86 % of men were confident.
At night, this drops to 39 % of women, 65 % of men
during the dark.
So this is not just about women's safety either.
If women feel safe, everybody feels safe,
and that's why that investment in Safer Travel Team,
15 PCSOs with the sergeant using money from the apprenticeship
Levy share fund, being able to have for the first time that
safer travel team, I think, gives people some confidence.
Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council - 0:24:41
And we are really focused on making sure that the app will
have an opportunity where you can tell us where you feel
unsafe so we can get that live data for the team.
Thank you.
Peter.
Thank you, Tracey.
It was on that same point I was going to come in anyway,
because I think it, obviously the figures there were quite
and a transport committee, we noted that.
There obviously is a perception by many,
quite a significant number of men and then a very significant number of women
and girls that they don't feel safe and we must act to do that.
If even in the cold fact that these are our passengers
that will be bringing in money for the bus network,
and unfortunately we're seeing a lot of bus fares disappear through that,
and that's not to take on the really important part about safety of women and girls
and of everyone on the streets.
And we did have an item on that and thank you for bringing it to the last transport
committee.
I think one of the things that members really wanted to look into, because obviously what
we're reporting on is the perception of safety, is some analysis of that crime data.
Obviously a bus journey is a very complicated mode of transport.
It requires you to walk from your home to a bus stop, to wait at a bus stop somewhere
for a period of time, to then take the bus journey and then maybe be at one of our bus
stations at the other end and walk to your final destination.
So there were a lot of points in that where there were areas where I would feel unsafe
in an evening.
I can understand why many may feel more unsafe than I would in that.
I think we'd really welcome some more in -depth view of those figures.
Where are you feeling unsafe?
Operators I think have always felt that actually the bit on the bus is not necessarily the
issue, but is that borne out in what people's perception are?
that the walk to the bus stop is unsafe because we must do that.
I'd really welcome then if we can really get into depth of those data and those perceptions
and then have a report on when we've got control of this bus network, what are we intending
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:26:43
Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council - 0:26:45
to do about it, what can we see about it, where we can set some KPI targets to see what
we would really like to see.
People feeling safe to use our bus network anytime of the day.
anywhere in all of our towns, cities and rural areas.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
A good contribution.
Thank you.
Yes, Councillor Anderson.
Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority - 0:27:04
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:27:08
I just asked Tim, tables one and three, is it possible to have that broken down by district?
Because we are quite different obviously in rural structures and the percentage may be
different.
We need to consider how that impacts and what we can do to help.
Absolutely, we can make sure we provide that in between meetings and make that a standing
item in future meetings.
Thank you so much and as Tim said this is the opportunity for us to say to our officers
Cllr Councillor Darren Commons Calderdale Council - 0:27:37
what do we want to see so we can really get under the bonnet of all of the detail as we
go into franchising and beyond.
So this is your chance, obviously outside the meeting as well where you can ask for
information to be prepared for you.
Yes, Councillor Commons.
Hi, Tim.
Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:27:58
We know patronage is falling, but if punctuality and reliability are improving, why is this?
And then, if they do continue to fall, can we still maintain the subsidy of under £20 million a year?
So, in terms of why is patronage, sorry, why is punctuality and reliability improving,
A lot of complex factors at play.
I think noting that bus operators will often put more resource into a network, so add more
busses in to maintain a set timetable, or they will stretch a timetable, so give themselves
more flexibility within the time available.
That manifests itself in a more punctual timetable, but the experience in the passenger as a result
is that the journey gets slower because it takes longer to reach the destination.
So whilst we should be assured that people can trust the timetable better, it's not necessarily
the end result that we want to achieve,
because clearly what we do want is services
to be both punctual, reliable, and comparable
in terms of overall journey times to other modes.
So I think that's really important.
And again, in time I'm sure we'll come to this point.
In future we will board discussions about what we can do
within your collective local authorities
to give busses the appropriate levels of priority,
in terms of highways at least,
to allow those journeys to be completed in time
and to minimise the amount of resource required
to operate them.
So I think that's probably a conversation for future.
In terms of your question around subsidy,
I think that's one that we will have to look at
over time as well.
We are on the cusp of just about awarding
our first contracts for franchise services.
Recent announcements around things like funding
for the two pound national bus fare cap
will change the funding envelope
in which we have to operate as well.
But making sure we've got a sustainable model,
which you all support and recognise that this system
of itself will continue to require subsidy,
I think is probably the most important starting point for that conversation.
As I say, you know, there's huge amounts of money both to protect just normal services
but through mayors' fairs under 19's, statutory concessions, so the English National Concessional
Cllr Councillor Darren Commons Calderdale Council - 0:29:57
Travel Scheme for all the disabled passengers, all of those things add up to, you know, well
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:30:03
in excess of £120 million worth of funding, huge amount of money, and there's obviously
then the fare box that the system generates as well.
So if you add all of that together, what we put into the system, how we afford our level
control over that relative to the amount of investment I think is important.
Thank you.
And Councillor Comyns, as you know, we've spent for decades, we've spent millions funding
Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority - 0:30:30
a broken system where bus companies have not, have withdrawn from socially necessary routes.
Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:30:36
We at the public, all of us, have been funding that because we know the public need to get
to work and to jobs.
and is it correct Tim that it's 45 million a year in what we're funding for socially
necessary routes currently? Just think of how much that is over the years.
No indeed May, so that's just for the aspects of services that are not commercially viable
Cllr Eleanor Thomson (Leeds City Council) - 0:30:54
and as I say there are other fair initiatives, so your Mayor's Fair scheme, Under 19 scheme
which continue to build on that. So yeah, it's different pots of money we use to subsidise
and contribute to the system but just for the non -commercials you're correct, 45 million
pounds for this financial year.
Thank you so much. Councillor Thompson.
Thank you. Just looping back in on that on both the data and the punctuality and reliability,
what we unfortunately often see is operators just cutting services, cutting frequency with
the promise of improved reliability. So just as one example, the 27 used to run
every 20 minutes. They cut it to every 30 minutes claiming it
would reduce improved reliability. Didn't particularly because they didn't
actually add enough busses in to make it work. Then they cut it to every 40 minutes, which
is one of the worst timings to run to because it's a long gap if one misses. It's hard to
predict. The service still runs, which is something
because if it first had their way, it probably wouldn't. But that seems, unfortunately, to
be their response is just to reduce the frequency. We have had some success on others where there
was one service where we knew that they just weren't allowing enough time to turn around
the bus at the end of the route.
Building that in has made a massive difference, which is great.
In that case we were able to drill down a bit more into the data, push first to look
into it, understand what was really happening, coordinate better with highways, which they
were not doing.
But I think that's where being able to really access that data and dig deep into it is beneficial
in understanding, okay, these are the routes passengers report massive issues on.
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:32:27
I've had quite a list this week sent to me from all over.
Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council - 0:32:31
Actually, what's going on here?
How can we dig into it?
How can we make the operators look again?
Are there genuine things they could do?
Sorry, very long question.
Thank you.
I'll take Councillor Carlin
and then come back to you, Tim.
Councillor Carlin.
Thank you, yeah.
Links in anyway to that question.
I think, as Tim will know,
on the previous board on transport committee,
We spent a long time working on, you know, what should this report show members?
So how could we best support members of this committee to see how the services are performing
in different districts, which is key because some districts were running a lot better than
others and you won't be surprised to know that your district was among the lowest figures
in some of the punctuality, but I know Tim and Tim worked really hard and we're in a
better position in Wakefield now.
But I guess what I'm keen now that we're in this Weaver board is having that next conversation that comes into Wellness's point, we now will have the data.
I think really beholden to us to see now how we will publish that data so that for every route that is available, members of the public can see exactly how reliable that service is.
Maybe journey time is something we need to factor in on that as well because that is a toss up.
As you correctly say Tim, in many times bus operators came to me previously to say the difficulty is
Fewer passengers are going on the bus
We're having to put more resource into it slow the journey down in order to get through the congestion
That's there pay for more drivers to go and the result is a bus that
Takes longer costs more and has fewer people on it
And that's where that spiral comes in that we're hoping that when we have control of it
We can arrest that development in some ways and bring people together to be better
but I think it'd be really useful to start thinking now on this board about when we've got all that data, when we've got control of it.
As Eleanor says, members of the public are absolutely fantastic at informing us when their service isn't working well,
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:34:30
and we can use that very well to add to our own data that we have, and how are we going to look at that.
So I guess it's a request for, not necessarily response now, but that in future, over the next period until we get to next year,
when we launched the first Weaver network busses, how are we ready to have that data
to display and to show to the public in a clear manner? Thank you.
Thank you and it was very pleasing at the investment board to approve £10 million for
Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority - 0:34:56
a south accommodation road that saves seven minutes for the passenger but also reliability.
Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:35:05
That's the key for passengers and for me at a bus stop you just want to know that it's
coming and what time is it coming. Tim, a bit more commentary rather than questions
but if you'd like to just give your thoughts.
I completely recognise the points, both points made by members and absolutely recognise that
we need to get into that level of detail to be able to understand what's going on under
the on it so to speak. And again, franchising will give us access to that information, both
in terms of the operational activities, our bus is running on time, where are the hotspots,
so which bits of the road network are causing us problems, how can we intervene, how can
We respond to those proactively, so dealing with planned and unplanned roadworks and such
force as well I think will make a difference.
I recognise all of Peter's points.
I'm very glad that we're starting to have this conversation now because we need to do
this ahead of franchising for next year, so you do get a level of transparency and information
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:35:59
to give you the assurance as all board members that we are able to manage this network effectively.
And again, welcome, remember we bring future papers back to suggest approaches to that.
We can do private sessions, happy to just take through whatever people feel necessary
in terms of starting to build our approach to the management of the system in the future.
Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority - 0:36:16
Thank you so much for that.
And also Nicky just reminded me just to say that all of the commentary will also be minutered
Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:36:24
and actioned.
So it will all be officially counted.
Thank you.
Just one final thought.
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:36:35
Just on the transparency of publishing data, again, it is absolutely our intention to publish
Cllr Councillor Andrew Judson Bradford Council - 0:36:38
transparent performance data for the contracts in future, and rightly so.
So again, we can in time bring back what level of detail, how frequently that data is published
on our website and so forth.
We can give members a sense of what that will look like in time.
Appreciate it.
Thank you.
Councillor Justin.
Thank you, Mayor.
I'm sure I've asked this question before, or I seem to think I've asked this question
before.
When I was, did have the meeting with First Bus,
and we were talking about franchising, which again,
I said I was completely staying out of and I couldn't help
in any way.
They were telling me part of that criteria,
and I think I did ask this before,
that performance on the bidding process didn't come into it.
So their past performance didn't come into it.
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:37:17
They were saying it was based on a financial proposition only.
So when this franchising goes forward,
I want to assure that performance data that they have
given us goes towards their bid.
because it isn't a financial thing, it's a performance thing for my opinion.
I just wanted to assure that I was going forward.
Thank you.
Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority - 0:37:35
Tim, before you come in, just to reassure you as well that it's also about quality.
It's not a race to the bottom, the cheapest bid will win.
We have an extensive criteria, but quality and reliability is also really important.
But Tim, do you want to just go through that a little bit?
Yes, so the bids that we've finished evaluating for the round one contracts were evaluated
on a combination of price, quality and social value.
So those were weighted separately,
but again, that's the mechanism by which they were evaluated.
We didn't and we're not allowed to take into account
prior performance of how they run the network now,
because there were some operators that don't run
the network here in West Yorkshire.
So we couldn't evaluate a brand new operator
who was new to the region as a result of that.
So that's, I think that's an important point to know.
And that was to encourage new entrants to the market
as well and drive competition.
In terms of their performance,
once they've been awarded the contracts we will absolutely look at punctuality and reliability,
how do they perform against the key metrics in the contract, but also customer feedback,
so how many complaints are they getting, how many customer queries do they receive and
Cllr Councillor Andrew Judson Bradford Council - 0:38:39
how quickly do they resolve them, what kinds of wider narrative exists around the performance
of an individual contractor. So there is absolutely as to the most point there is an aspect of
quality of performance of the system as well and we'll be doing a lot of monitoring on
that in due course.
Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority - 0:38:53
Yes, so do you want to follow up on that point?
Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:38:56
Yes, thank you, Mayor, just follow up on that then.
So during the franchise's tenure, as it were, if these key performance targets are not met,
then we can cancel that franchise.
Cllr Councillor Darren Commons Calderdale Council - 0:39:12
So we have a contracting regime which has penalties, we have a contracting regime which
allows for overperformance, and in extremis, if there is habitual and sustained underperformance,
then yeah we are ultimately allowed to cancel that contract if needed.
Councillor Commons.
Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority - 0:39:29
So have we got any evidence that the Demonstrators of May scheme is actually generating new journeys
Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:39:33
or are we just subsidising more journeys and when will we receive route by route evidence
on patronage and subsidy information?
So in terms of the May's fare scheme it has generated a number of trips, I doubt the immediate
number to hand. What I can give you is probably one additional scheme which we have funded
which is a £1 fare in the Keighley area as part of wider fares initiatives in the region
and we've also invested in the Airedale line, the 6068 trans -dev from Keighley into Leeds.
That has seen, again I'm doing this number from memory, I think 24 % passenger growth
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:40:11
since that scheme started. So we have proven that subsidising fares, improving performance,
Rebecca Cheung (Lead Policy Manager) West Yorkshire Combined Authority - 0:40:16
improving frequency of services does work, that's not universal across the
entire system and again happy to bring back or have a separate conversation with
the Council of Commons about the evidence that we've got so far. Thank you, is it true
Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:40:29
to say Tim that the offer for young people has increased patronage for young
people? Under 19 schemes, yes you absolutely we've seen some growth in that
sector as well, again you know growth is not indefinite so you know whilst ever
you continue to put money into the scheme it ultimately will plateau but again we
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:40:46
have, we've seen some good growth in previous years and again I think one of the reassuring
elements of the National Bus fare cap going to £2 is that we did see a big bounce back
in the first time that fare cap was introduced back in 2022 and we're hoping for similar
response this time as well.
Thank you so much. Okeydoke, I think we had quite a wide ranging discussion there but
as I say, obviously some members of, well this board is new, we are, you know there
members who are new to this responsibility.
So please feel free to be able to contact officers if you've got queries or questions.
And people are very – we're all very open to helping you understand where we are currently.
So I think the next part of this is just to note, if members are happy, the contents of
this report, the information it contains on the performance of the current bus network.
Number two, to consider what improvements over time board members would like to consider
on improved oversight of system -wide information, particularly in the context of implementing

8 Rail Performance Quarterly Update

franchising under the Weaver network. And finally, to consider and share any further
areas of service delivery members wish to see in future quarterly reports.
Are we happy to note?
We are.
Thank you so much.
The recommendation will be noted.
Thank you all for the intelligent, thoughtful points raised in the paper, and we'll ensure
we incorporate feedback into future quarterly reports, and in particular to ensure we have
full oversight of the network as part of Weaver services launching in May 2027.
It is not far away, May 2027, so we're all systems go.
Thank you.
Moving on to item 8, rail performance quarterly update.
Members you know we don't operate rail services, we don't set fares or manage rail stations
in West Yorkshire, however we do play a really active and important role in rail.
We advocate for service improvements, monitor performance, invest at stations, and support
major programmes such as Trans -Pennine Route Upgrade.
Now as part of the Railways Bill going through parliament, it proposes a statutory role for
male strategic authorities.
And I'm really pleased to say that we recently signed the country's first memorandum of understanding
with the rail industry.
It was last month.
And that's as a precursor to my role, my statutory role, working with GBR.
It first of its kind, and I think it's a really strong foundation to deliver collective ambitions
in Weaver Network through rail.
Remember, this is an integrated transport network where a bus will feed into rail, will
feed into tram, and into bikes.
This and walking.
This paper sets out an overview of passenger trends, rail services changes, performance
Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:44:05
network enhancements, also the key activities and next steps that we're going to be taking
as we get ready for that role proposed by the Railways Bill.
So could I ask Rebecca Chung, our lead policy manager, to speak to this item?
Thank you, Rebecca.
Thank you, Chair.
I will walk through the report and highlight the key items that were noted.
So I will start to say the passenger demand for rail continues to be very strong and we
are seeing growth right across the region.
Usage is increasing on Northern, on Transplant Express, LNDR, and Coast Country services,
with leisure travel proven to be particularly strong.
In terms of surface change, one proposal that is worth highlighting is Northern's proposed
change to Hull, Leeds, Bedford, Halifax surface, which set out in paragraph 3 .9.
This risk has experienced reliability problems for some time with surfaces often terminating
at Leeds or Bedford instead of continuing through to Halifax.
So in order to improve performance, northern is proposing the Hull surface will terminate
at Leeds, while the Bedford, Halifax, Huddlefield surface will be extended through to Leeds
to maintain connectivity.
The proposal will improve reliability and punctureability, and will provide a second
early service to lead for places like Lohmore, Brick House and in future, Allen Station.
However, passengers travelling from Bedford, Nipussi, Barnley to destination East of Leeds
to Selby and Hull will need to change the trains at this station.
On balance, officers consider that it is still a strong case for supporting the proposal
because of the wider network benefits.
Northern is also looking at introduction of the autumn timetable from next year to help
manage the impact of the rainfall.
Officers have not received all the full details yet, but we have made it very clear to the
rail industry the focus should be on preventive measures instead of reducing passenger service
level for samples such as omitting station calls.
Looking at performance while there is still room for improvement, there has been some
encouraging progress that we can see.
Both Northern and TPE have improved punctuality over the reporting periods.
TPE has, however, seen some cancelations increase, mainly due to fleet issues and also
the impact of hot weather.
Coast country has experienced a higher level of cancelation, largely linked to driver
availability on Sundays.
In terms of well investment, there are significant amount of well investment activity taking
place across the network at the moment.
Transplant would upgrade what we call TLU remains the single largest well investment
programme in our region.
Progress is being made across a number of locations including Huddersfield, Merfield,
Geospray, Baddeley Station.
However, as you can imagine, the programme is right in the middle of the delivery stage.
There will be substantial amount of engineering work taking place into summer and into September
of October, which will cause inconvenience to passengers.
So we will welcome feedback from members so that we can feed it back to the rail industry.
The combined authorities also continue to progress for New Ellis Station.
Both Ford Park and Allen Station have now reached a mature stage of development, with
construction potentially starting on site next year.
At Wright Roads, we have resolved the legacy issue of the Network Rail, and passengers
should begin to see activity on site over the course of this summer.
Alongside these schemes are progressing to improve accessibility at Tomerton and Potiphat
Monkeil station, helping to make the network more accessible for all passengers.
Finally, just a few points on railway form.
The Railway Bill is currently making its way through the Parliament, with Royal Assent
expecting later this year.
The bill is about creating a more joined -up railway.
One of the biggest changes is the creation of the Great British Railway, what we call
GBR.
GBR will bring the trains and track together under single organisations.
So instead of dealing with separate network well and also a number of different train
operators, there will be one body accountable for running and proving the railway.
The bill will also give the Mayor's District authorities, such as combined authority, a
statutory role in the railway.
So while there are still a lot of uncertainties in this space, there are also some really
exciting opportunities for us.
Our focus will be making sure that we capture those opportunities that can translate into
real benefit for passengers through a formal partnership with GBR, potentially through
local commissioning that will give us greater influence over well services and station standards
across this region.
Over the coming months, officers will be exploring those opportunities and also assessing the
cost and associated risks, and we will bring back the details to this board as it develops.
The MOU, the Chair has signed with the well industry, is a very important step towards
a future partnership with GBR.
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:49:08
Finally, we are developing a public facing well vision that will set out how the well
vision can help us to deliver the Weaver Network and support communities and business across
the region and we intend to bring a draught of that vision back to this board before the
end of this year.
So I will stop there.
Thank you so much, Rebecca.
And the strategic rail partnership board has been in existence for five years.
And we bring all of the operators, the network rail, and at meetings we've had DFT, we've
had the Treasury.
And I think this is the way we're going to get stuff done, is this collaboration and
this cooperation because we've, for too long,
people have pointed the finger of blame.
Well, it's the people doing the track.
It's the people doing the trains.
And now bringing track and train together is a really
amazing innovation from Peter Hendy.
And I think the board that we've set up is one of the
Cllr Councillor Andrew Judson Bradford Council - 0:50:17
most mature in the country, and I think that puts us in
a really good position to, one,
get things done for our region.
but also to have a strong voice and GBR as that gets set up over the next few years.
So Councillor Judson and we'll open you up for conversation. Thank you Rebecca.
Thank you Mayor. She's talking about railways, you probably shouldn't have done that.
It's a little bit outside our area but in the interests of northern regeneration and
interests of cross -penine routes and transportation links. Has this authority publicly backed,
or would it consider publicly backing, the reopening of the South East Lancashire rail line?
This is a stretch of line between Cone and Skipton, so we've got a direct line then from
Manchester to Skipton to the areas. It's a level line, so with transportation over to, at the
coming from Liverpool to Selby has to go up to Newcastle and come back down because of
the line.
Now, it's roughly about 300 million, but I've spoken to Northern Powerhouse Rail and they
didn't really understand it.
But is anybody, first of all, is anybody familiar with Selmap, which is the South East Lancashire
Rail Action Partnership, the campaign group that's trying to open this line.
Now for Keithley and Bradford and for the universities, getting that line open and getting
the people from the areas on that line out to Manchester that can come around the top
way and get to us easier, and again Bradford and Keighley, instead of going across and
getting stuck in the traffic jam as it were, can then go round and have another direct
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:51:54
link to Manchester. I personally think as a link that is a very important thing to go
forward, and I was just wondering what the authorities thought on this one, and the real
partnership thoughts on this one. Thank you.
Thank you, Councillor. I think colleagues, could we share the White
Rose Rail plan with members of the board, please, because we identified what we think
is with the 45 billion that was announced by the Chancellor, what we think we can deliver,
because we're first in the queue for that money, what can we deliver that's going to
Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:52:29
have the most impact to the people in our region, but you're absolutely right, connectivity
to Manchester is crucial and that's why the new station of Bradford is part of that work
and getting Bradfordians to Hoddesfield to get on Trans -Pennine.
So regarding that programme, I'm not across that, so Rebecca.
Thank you, Chair.
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:52:51
So we can definitely share the Yorkshire Plan for Wealth, got some hard copy, if I remember
the same way I can dish out some hard copy.
Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council - 0:52:58
In terms of the initiative you mentioned, we are aware of the initiative and then we
are supportive.
However, there is some significant funding challenge that we will find out and support,
so I think we need to work together on this.
Thank you.
Councillor Carlisle, then Councillor Clements.
Councillor Carlisle.
Thank you.
As I'm sure Rebecca would expect, I did want to comment on new Pudsey, which I'll declare
is my local station.
half of it is in my ward because the line is the border so if you're coming into Leeds
then you're within my ward. I mean I think it's clear at that station that the clear
priority journeys are to Leeds and Bradford and not normally much further than that. There
is a direct train to Manchester which is used quite a lot but Leeds and Bradford are where
nearly everyone gets off the train on that route. We've also invested in the car park
New Pudsey and it has become then a de facto park and ride for people to travel into the city centres.
So I think in a way we'd regretfully accept the loss of that journey if it does bring those
benefits. A couple of things I did want to highlight, yep at peak time that whole train is
delayed really often, nearly every morning I think. Others are too though, often at peak times on that
The real difficulty that there is at the moment and why that whole train is then very busy and often overcrowded is a gaps in timetables there.
So at the moment you've got significant gaps but if that train was withdrawn and nothing in its place in the timetable,
I think you'd have at 8 o 'clock in the morning three trains within half an hour and then a half an hour gap at New Pudsey and that whole train's the one in the middle.
which then is full because everyone wants to get on the 840 that gets you to Leeds at 850
just in time to walk up, get a coffee and get into work.
So that's the real significant issue there would be.
So it's looking round whether those other trains could fill that gap,
provide a better, more reliable service through into Leeds.
Yeah, we would completely accept it
and there would be a lot of scope then to invest more in that station.
But that overcrowding that happens because it's the one train that leaves between half 8 and 9 on that line,
if people could solve that and get that more standard timetable and know that it all depends on where everything else is,
how many trains there are in Bradford at that time, how many trains are in Leeds at that time,
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:55:18
but that's the significant issue. And on that point, I mean, as a ward member and knowing what people say about that station often,
Cllr Councillor Darren Commons Calderdale Council - 0:55:31
we'd regretfully accept that lack of direct journeys for just that reliable and frequent journey into both Leeds and Bradford.
Thank you. Thank you so much. We could feed that back, can't we? We just take that away
as an action. Thank you. Councillor Commins.
Yeah, it's on the same cancelation. Have we any idea what the travel time then would
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:55:52
extend to between Hull and Halifax for passengers coming from Halifax and Calderdale? And also,
to add to that, what is the view on with the mass transit ahead on that which was bought
Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:56:01
quite yesterday, is there any view on the Kaldavella line being electrified? Or is that
in the scope of things?
Thank you. Do you want to take it Rebecca or Liz, it looks like you were going to answer
no Rebecca, thank you.
So in terms of the journey time, I probably need to come back to you. In terms of the
Cardiovascular Electrification, if you can see our well strategy and also your proposal,
but it's one of the key priority. So as part of the North fund powerhouse, well, that we
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:56:30
working with the DFT, there's potential option that we can improve, provide enhancement improvement
on the line. So it's a work in progress. It will take another 12 and 18 months to finish
some of the high level design work. Thank you so much. And also as members of the board,
whilst I do value, Peter, your focus on your ward, I do understand that, but we are all
now the voice of West Yorkshire. So you will have your own issues and this is definitely
the forum for it. But it's understanding the whole network I think is also crucial as well.
So thank you for that contribution. But I would also just like to say if Councillor
Falas, Batley station is looking amazing. I don't know if you've been recently but it
absolutely looks great. And all of these improvements in the Weaver branding, there's a lift and
Cllr Eleanor Thomson (Leeds City Council) - 0:57:25
accessibility is absolutely plagued when I was the MP there, plagued that community
and now you've got a Lyft coming in and it looks so fantastic. I've been taking
pictures of Batley and elsewhere with the Weaver branding. So I've got Councillor
Thomson then Councillor Anderson.
Thank you. We're on the waiting list for Bridge as well with Lyft and Bob's ahead of us slightly.
So a bit of commentary, a couple of questions. 3 .3 really welcomed the growth.
We're seeing that locally in terms of rail usage, it's great.
3 .7 cross country.
I need to take a breath I think before I say anything.
Nightmare. Lack of capacity, completely inadequate rolling stock.
They're still running Virgin Voyages but you can't listen to Virgin Radio on them anymore.
I still remember when you could buy the headphones in the shop on the train.
Just, yeah, complete lack of capacity.
impossible to get advanced fares at any reasonable price if you're having to travel.
It's like a sardine tin from Sheffield to Leeds, so hopefully the new flyer rate, the
new service will help take some pressure off that.
But yes, I try and avoid them if I can, although they do provide some really useful connexions
and it would be great to be able to use them more.
3 .18 infrastructure issues.
We've had a bit of a couple of weeks with this, just coming back into Leeds on the hot
Saturday from London, coming up the East Coast Main Line, not knowing if we'd actually get
to Leeds or not, if we might be on a bus from Doncaster or York or Wakefield, getting to
Leeds to find there were no trains going anywhere except Hull or Manchester, and you were just
expected to queue up and get a taxi and Northern just seemed to not care at all.
There was nobody around, there was no information, you couldn't afford to get a taxi or there
wasn't a bus, I'm not sure what you were supposed to do.
But what we're seeing is that when things go wrong,
the communication is terrible, but is absolutely key
to getting people where they need to be
or understanding what's happening.
And if we can help to fill that gap, then all the better.
Similar experience, I've been in touch with Darren also
because engineering works on the Wharfedale Line, great.
No information at stations at all.
And then the display on the train was split down the middle
so you couldn't actually read it because it was clearly set for two pages, but they hadn't
even set the information up to be read on board so you knew if you wanted to go somewhere
this weekend how to get there. Great thing is there might actually be an Ilkley to Skipton
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 0:59:54
train because of the weird running of things, which is a service we don't normally have.
And then finally really working the statutory role and great to see that we're leading the
way and showing others how to do it and testing the water.
I think there is a frustration on train line that that's a business, that's on your app
and often when there's disruption it says everything's fine so people turn up at the
station because it's not recorded on train line on the app.
And there was some good news from the rail partnership board that cross country have
Tim Taylor Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 1:00:33
invested in more rolling stocks so the trains would be longer. They would still not be necessarily
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 1:00:36
affordable or on time but they were very pleased to be able to say that they
Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council - 1:00:41
would have longer trains so hopefully it's not so much like a sardine can. Do
you want to respond Rebecca or should we just take those as noted those comments
that commentary? We'll pass the comments back to you. Thank you.
Councillor Anderson. Just like to say a comment we're criticising lots of issues
was at the moment but yesterday unfortunately I was on the Nottingley train where there
was an incident with a person stepping in front of the train at street houses and I
think it's good for us to recognise the staff on the train were absolutely tremendous yesterday.
When you consider what they had to deal with, waiting for about an hour and a half for other
staff to come and replace them, keeping passengers well informed but actually having to deal
with the incident. I just think our thoughts should be with them today and
the family that lost somebody yesterday in a very tragic circumstances and I
think it's a good opportunity. I know we're criticising some of the things
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 1:01:43
Cllr Peter Carlill (Deputy Chair) Leeds City Council - 1:01:45
that going off but all our services are run by human beings who are trying to do
Mayor Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire - 1:01:46
their best. Maybe the organisations don't always work as we'd like them to but
just recognise that people are trying to do their job and serve us as a
community and my prayers today are with those people who suffered yesterday.
It's incredibly compassionate and does remind us, doesn't it, of people going to work every
day to keep us all safe as well.
And I know that train drivers do get support when those horrific instances happen.
It's so tragic.
But I wonder whether from this board we could reach out to the operator.
was it northern? Maybe we could reach out to the operator just to say we mentioned this
incident and wanted to send our thoughts if people are happy to do that. Good, okay. Any
further comments? No, thank you. That was a really good, robust conversation, thank
you. So we note the updates provided in this report, thank you Rebecca, and thank members
for the feedback. I do appreciate that. So we've come to the end of the agenda. Thank
you very much for attending the first Weave Abort. We have the White Rose Rail Plan for
you as you go. And also, can I remind you the next date of the meeting, 17th of September.
And I hope you all have a wonderful summer if I don't see some of you before then. So
Thank you all so much.
Thank you to colleagues and members of the public.
The meeting is now closed.
Thank you.
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