Transport

Many residents and visitors have complained to us about the dire state of bus services to/from Wetherby - this is a topic that BW have long been highlighting, as shown in the various paragraphs below.
We strongly recommend that you make your views known on on the current consulation looking at proposed reforms to the franchising system for buses in West Yorkshire.
Note that the consultation closes on 7th January 2024

West Yorkshire Combined Authority (Again - see article lower down this page)

WYCA have updated their transport policy in response to comments received (see article below). They have called for comments to the revised "West Yorkshire Mass Transit Vision 2040"

Please go to this page for more information and to register your comments.

Better Wetherby have submitted the following comments:

In response to your invitation to share our views on your revised Mass Transit Vision 2040 we can but express surprise at the almost complete lack of content addressing the Leeds Outer North East area and its public transport needs.

You received many responses from people in this area, which includes the “major settlement” of Wetherby. The Town, together with the large residential areas of Boston Spa, Collingham, East Keswick, Bardsey, Harewood and Scarcroft has many thousands of residents who pay Council Tax to Leeds and have a right to be afforded the due consideration.

The first matter that was brought to your attention in 2021, when you were asking for opinions of The West Yorkshire Transport Vision 2040, was the absence of any meaningful reference to Wetherby Town as part of the “Vision”. This being to the point where this major town with important transport connections within the town was not even named on your map of the visualized Mass Transit Integrated Transport System. And it is still not named thereon.
Wetherby is correctly referred to as a major settlement by Leeds City Council Departments. One definition of a major settlement however as defined by Leeds CC Planners is a 15 minute frequency of buses to Leeds. This is not and never has been the case.
Kirk Deighton and Spofforth in nearby North Yorkshire are also affected by services serving Wetherby. Unfortunately, too little regard is paid to “cross border” travel in the area. Buses to Knaresborough and York have been reduced from hourly to 4x per day. The bus service to Harrogate has also been reduced. Local residents soon will not be able to access the hospital at York and have fewer services running to Harrogate hospital.

Wetherby is immediately adjacent to the A1M and A58. Traffic for Harrogate, York and Leeds travel through the town on a daily basis throughout the day and evening including weekends.

What consideration has been given to a P&R next to Wetherby. It would undoubtedly remove a lot of “local traffic” from A1(M), which is often used as a commuter route into Leeds and also commuter traffic from the A58 corridor. This will only get worse when Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon build 1100 houses at Swinnow Park, Wetherby adjacent to A1M.
The above P&R scheme could provide a connection by bus to Garforth rail station. Wetherby does NOT have a railway station but many make the journey to Leeds or York for that purpose.
Again, there is no information or stated intention about how the A58, a major commuter route and route to the A1(M) is to be serviced. How are the connections to the major public transport system to be made? How is the near total car dependency of the area to be addressed to meet climate priorities?
LCC did declare a Climate Emergency in 2019 but this seems to have been overlooked in subsequent Public Transport decisions outside of the City centre.

You acknowledge in your “You Said, We Did” document that there are a number of communities across West Yorkshire that do not feature within the Mass Transport Vision. You say that this was done after a “rigorous, well evidenced and carefully considered process.”

We would request to have you publish, given your EDI policy, the reasons why the Wetherby area and the Leeds Outer North East and its residents are so comprehensively ignored or unseen in your “Vision”.
Leeds CC Officers have been asked similar questions and consistently fail to give a proper explanation.

We read of your aspirations for a Mass Transport system and its supporting methods of Public Transport.

Public Transport has changed a lot in Wetherby in the last 4 years, due to reduced frequencies and unreliability.
Bus stops in Leeds centre have been removed and repositioned on numerous occasions without prior notification for Wetherby area bus users.
The Network map, yet again, barely acknowledges Wetherby, with the type face being so small and so high up on the map in the bus shelters that it is impossible to see/read it.
The bus companies providing the X98 and X99 service persist in referring to Deighton Bar rather than saying Wetherby. The Bar has long gone and Deighton Road and Deighton Gates school are the only place names with Deighton that exist at the far northern end of Wetherby.
One may be forgiven for expecting to see in the “Vision” a positive suggestion of an improved linking bus service to the MT grid and appropriate Park and Ride, so as to encourage thousands off cars off the road, an additional reduction of vehicles out of Leeds City area and the opportunity for residents to leave the car behind for envisaged complete journeys.

Currently Wetherby bus services have been abandoned by First Bus and have been taken up by Transdev. The Transdev bus service frequency from Harrogate to Leeds is being reduced. The Connexions service from Wetherby to York is under threat. What price Bus Partnership Schemes and Enhanced Partnership Schemes?

We would like to think that WYCA does not take its eye off the ball whilst enthusiastically progressing the expensive MT scheme with the result that important public transport links are not improved accordingly.
Furthermore, some 30000 residents of Leeds Outer North East, appear to have been abandoned with respect to any meaningful and progressive Public Transport initiatives.

You can also download the BW comments here.

Connexions Bus Service to York

The 412 bus service between Wetherby and York has been a valuable lifeline for many, particularly the residents in the villages en-route, for which it is their only public transport. The service has been under threat for some time and was due to be withdrawn in December 2022, however a deal has been struck to extend this until March 2023. There are a number of actions you can take if you wish to keep this service operating:

First, and most importantly "Use it". Unfortunately, if there are insufficient passengers it may well be a case of "losing it".
The Parish Councils of Tockwith with Wilstrop, Bilton in Ainsty with Bickerton, Long Marston and Rufforth with Knapton have launched a survey and are keen to get responses from the residents of Wetherby. Please use this survey link - https://forms.gle/7t2dXDhJeMZJBRib7 - it will only take a couple of minutes.
There is also a petition you can sign, initiated by Long Marston Parish Council https://chng.it/G9vqGLLh .

West Yorkshire Combined Authority

The WYCA plan county wide transport policy and strategy and control the financing of the network, amounting to millions of pounds in grants and payments. WYCA declare that their decision and planning for the county transport network will encompass Net Zero emissions by 2038; Decarbonisation; Clean air; A Green Revolution and Reduction of congestion. They acknowledge the many reasons to travel, including Employment, Education, Healthcare, Childcare, Shopping, Visiting, Leisure. Their stated ambition is a doorstep to destination alternative to the private car for everybody!!.

The WYCA are performing a wide ranging consultation on the future of transport in our region, covering both of strategy and policy across the 5 local authority areas in West Yorkshire (Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield).
Please go to https://www.yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/connectivity for more information and to register your comments. Note that this consultation runs until 11th April 2021.

We would strongly urge everyone to make their views known on this important topic for for Wetherby, the transport strategy will be driven by comments from the public, and as discussed within the Leeds Local Authority plans below, there is currently no provision for public transport improvements for the Wetherby area. This issue has been highlighted recently in the Wetherby News and other local papers (Group says area has been ignored) and we might question how well the current draft proposals meet the latest government strategy - "Bus Back Better"

You may also wish to consider the following when responding to this consultation:

There is little/no discussion about the outer North East of Leeds area, i.e. Wetherby area! Wetherby has been described by the Leeds Local Authority (LA) as a significant/major settlement and a designated town centre and transport hub, yet doesn't even appear on the map.
Where are the plans for regular Public Transport links from Wetherby to and from Leeds, York, Wharfedale, Airedale, Harrogate etc?
A coordinated transport policy MUST coordinate transport to adjoining areas - particularly in Wetherby which is at the outer edge of the WYCA controlled district
Why are there no regular bus links in this area to adjoining towns such as Harrogate and York which would discourage car use?
When will parking be made available adjacent to Public Transport links to discourage car use?
Why is the A58 corridor not recognised in their plans as a major route?
How will congestion in Wetherby and Collingham be addressed?
Why is Wetherby not even marked on various maps and diagrams in WYCAs strategy documents regarding Mass Transit, Integrated Transport System, Pan North Rail Connectivity Plan?

Have you been asked for your views, are you aware of any surveys, any information gather that might have guided decision making about Wetherby in relations to WYCA planning?
There is no mention of Wetherby in references to the High Frequency Network (Public Transport). Nor is it mentioned as an area with poor access.
Why are there no regular bus links in this area to the destinations acknowledged above to discourage car use?

LEEDS TRANSPORT STRATEGY CONSULTATION
A public consultation on a draft Transport Strategy for Leeds is also currently taking place, the Leeds strategy is a component part of the wider WYCA strategy above. This consultation follows the declaration of a climate emergency by LCC in March 2019. The vision is for Leeds to be a city where you do not need a car, with the ambition towards Leeds becoming a net zero city by 2030. The draft Connecting Leeds Transport Strategy sets out how it is proposed to achieve this.

A key factor in the success of the strategy will be the provision of improved bus services. Yet, paradoxically, for a strategy with such an ambitious vision, the current draft includes no prospect of better public transport for Wetherby and the outer suburbs of Leeds. It is important that LCC are made aware that in addition to providing efficient and regular bus services to Leeds and Harrogate, the current lack of bus services from Wetherby to York needs to be addressed to give people wider access for business, education, employment and hospitals and also to railway stations such as York and Cattal.

We would urge you make your views known in the consultation exercise that has been extended to 11th April 2021. To find out more about the plans and register your comments, please go to https://leedstransportstrategy.commonplace.is/about.
Better Wetherby have responded to this consultation- see this link