Better Transport

Leeds came very close to getting a tram. What follows is the sad story of how the tram got away... leaving city residents and visitors to struggle with traffic and congestion.  

In March 2000 the Department for Transport suggested that funding would be available for up to 25 new trams around the country.

But by July 2004, Ministers had concluded that buses would usually be more cost effective than trams. The Government withdrew funding for the Supertram scheme planned in Leeds which would have seen three tram lines built in the city, reducing the number of car trips by 5.7 million a year. (Other trams proposed in South Hampshire and Liverpool also saw their funding withdrawn at this time.) The Government and the West Yorkshire passenger transport executive (called Metro) then tried to reach agreement on a new Supertram proposal that would cost less.

But in November 2005, the transport secretary rejected the revised proposal, arguing that the cost was still too high. The transport secretary recommended that Leeds should have a 'top of the range rapid bus scheme' instead of a tram. He quoted from an Atkins consultants report, arguing that a high-class bus would cost half the money but deliver most of the benefits of a tram. Metro and many people in Leeds disagreed.

We criticised the Government at the time for having double standards: the costs of road schemes often escalate far more than the costs of trams, but the Government hardly ever cancels road building as a result.

Leeds has a new bus scheme, but it is still the biggest city in Europe without a tram. The 700,000 people living with traffic and congestion in the city have been told they can’t expect anything more than bus lanes. Meanwhile, in Germany trams are running in towns of 50,000 people. In 2007/8, spending on public transport was £245 per person in Yorkshire & the Humber, compared to £667 per person in London.

The people of Leeds deserve more funding for a new tram.