Council leaders' £90m electric bus fund vote

Leaders of West Yorkshire's five councils are to vote on plans to spend a further £90m on a fleet of publicly-owned electric buses.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) approved a deposit of £30m to start production of 193 zero emission vehicles last October.

The buses will be franchised but fares, routes and timetables will be set by the authority as part of its Weaver Network.

If approved, the £90m will fund the remainder of the fleet, as well as a possible 63 more vehicles. Brabin said: "This investment demonstrates our commitment to building a better-connected West Yorkshire with a bus network that is fit for the future."

The mayor confirmed last month on BBC Radio Leeds' Message the Mayor programme that the new fleet would be air conditioned.

She said: "The new ones, they will have air conditioning.

"However, of course, we will be taking a fleet from [existing] bus operators. There will be a process of transition."

She said some older vehicles would be re-purposed for Weaver but the fleet would "get fully electric over the next few years."

The new buses are being be built by Northern Ireland-based Wrightbus.

Brabin said: "Dozens of state-of-the-art electric buses are on the production line as we speak, while work is ongoing to bring depots and facilities into public control.

"The Weaver Network and its buses will be the pride of West Yorkshire."

The Weaver Network is the region's new, integrated transport network which aims to join up buses, trains, a mass transit system (trams), walking, wheeling and cycling under one name.

WYCA has started a process to select operators to run the bus services on its behalf.

Round one of the franchised bus network is expected to be up and running in May 2027 and is expected to include buses primarily operating in Kirklees, Dewsbury, Huddersfield and parts of Leeds.

Round two will include services mainly covering the Five Towns - Castleford, Featherstone, Knottingley, Pontefract, and Normanton - parts of Leeds and Wakefield, and is expected to be running in early 2028.

WYCA hopes the network will be fully franchised later that year.

The rest of West Yorkshire, including Bradford, Calderdale and parts of Wakefield, will be included in round three.

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