Currently, less than four in ten of the city region’s population can currently reach the centre of Leeds by public transport within 30 minutes, according to the assessment. While people across the region may have become accustomed to elongated journey times due to poor public transport, this is worse than for many European cities of a comparable size.
The five yearly review, carried out by the National Infrastructure Commission , also estimates a capacity gap of at least 7,000 additional passengers unable to get into Leeds city centre during the midweek peak by 2055, based on current public transport provision. The NIC rightly points out that the scale of the city’s transport capacity needs “is likely to justify investing in tram or rail based projects”.