FAQs

A public consultation gives the public, stakeholders, and communities the opportunity to make their views known and influence proposals by providing their feedback during the consultation period.  

Consultation is a part of the wider planning process for major projects like Mass Transit and aims to share the early plans of a large project at a stage when changes can be made to the emerging design. Consultation gives everyone a chance to get involved in the development of a large project by giving feedback on the proposals via a consultation feedback survey.  

Consultation is not a vote or referendum where an outcome that is favoured the most will be taken forward. Instead, consultations are used to gain valuable feedback that highlight issues, provide insight, and help shape the plans. All feedback gained during this consultation will be considered alongside our engagement with technical and statutory stakeholders and local authorities involved as part of the ongoing Mass Transit development process. 

Please share the Mass Transit Your Voice page with anyone you think would be interested in taking part in a future public consultation.  

For future consultations, as well as submitting individual responses, you can submit a joint response on behalf of a group or organisation on our Your Voice platform or by emailing your response to masstransit@westyorks-ca.gov.uk. Please also share the link with your group and organisation colleagues or members so they have the opportunity to provide an individual response, should they wish to do so. 

Your responses will be analysed as part of the consultation process. Following the consultation, we will produce a consultation summary report that provides details about the issues that you have raised.  

We will also provide more information about feedback we received and what we are doing in response to this feedback during our consultation on the preferred routes for phase one in 2025. 

If you have any questions or would like to make a complaint, you can get in touch with us via:  

Our Questions & Answers (Q&A) tool on this page: Submit your question and we will get back to you (responses for questions relating to the consultation will be provided within 10 working days)  

Email: Masstransit@westyorks-ca.gov.uk 

Telephone: 0113 245 7676 (MetroLine) charged at the standard operator's rate  

Post: FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM WYCA. 

Even with all the improvements we have planned for our existing train, bus, walking, cycling, and driving infrastructure, public transport is often still overcrowded, and roads are congested, especially during rush hour. If we do nothing, these issues will only continue to worsen so we need to take action now.  

Mass Transit can help fix these issues. We can increase our transport capacity as trams are able to carry approximately four times the number of passengers of a typical bus. Trams can also be segregated from traffic, spending less time sat in traffic jams, making them quicker and more reliable than other modes.  

Mass Transit is essential to bringing people and places closer together, to helping our communities thrive and economy flourish.  

Our plans for Mass Transit are supported by our plans for the bus network. It is not one or the other. A decision was made on 14 March 2024 by Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, to bring buses back under local control through franchising. With franchising, the Combined Authority will set the routes, frequency, fares, and overall standards of the buses in our region. More information on bus franchising in West Yorkshire can be found on our Bus Service Improvement Plan webpage. 

Mass Transit will be just one part of our plans for an integrated transport network and, as the proposals develop, we will undertake detailed assessments of how Mass Transit will complement the wider bus network to improve connectivity for communities along the routes.   

Potential stops for the phase one route options have yet to be decided. As we continue to develop the proposals, the exact locations of stops will be identified. We anticipate that stops will be located approximately every 300 to 800 meters along routes, in line with Department for Transport guidance. In identifying where stops will be, we will seek to balance the need to serve areas along each route alongside existing public transport availability. As part of developing these proposals, we are seeking to provide a number of stops within inner city areas too, allowing easier, more frequent journeys for our communities. 

The number and location of Mass Transit stops will be informed by a range of factors, including:  

Impact to the road network has been a factor for deciding which route options to take forward for Mass Transit phase one. During construction and operation, we will take measures to limit the impacts to the road network and local traffic as far as reasonably practicable and seek to keep disruption to a minimum.  

We are working very closely with our partners and local councils to ensure that essential services such as emergency services can still be maintained. We acknowledge that this project will cause disruption, and we will keep in regular contact with people to notify them when road closures and diversions are happening.  

Mass Transit will bring significant benefits for generations to come, which we consider far outweigh the short-term impact that might be experienced during construction.  

The project will aim to reduce impacts as far as reasonably practicable. We will work collaboratively with the local authorities to ensure essential services such as deliveries and refuse collections can still be maintained. We understand businesses along or near to the route may have more questions about disruption, that there may be concerns about businesses along the route being impacted. We will work hard to ensure that access to homes and businesses is maintained, or alternative arrangements are made during key times. 

If you are worried about this and you would like to speak to a member of our team, please contact us. We would urge people to fill out the consultation survey so we can better understand the level of impact along the route options. 

Mass Transit will be a considerable investment but would grow our region’s economy and deliver substantial benefits for generations to come. 
 
We have already been allocated £200 million by the Government to develop our Mass Transit plans between now and 2027. This would cover design, consultation, and other preliminary works. 
 
The chancellor has seen our plans, and we are determined to secure future funding for the scheme and expect phase one construction to exceed £2bn.

Mass Transit is all about giving people more choice. A choice to choose a mode of transport which makes their journey easier and quicker. We believe rail and Mass Transit can complement each other. Where rail caters for regional and national journeys, Mass Transit would assist passengers in making shorter, more local journeys. Mass Transit stops would be much closer to each other than with rail, meaning people can start and end their journeys closer to where they live. Mass Transit services would also be significantly more frequent than the Train services (typically between every 5-10 minutes on other UK tram systems). This will help shorten people’s journeys overall as less time will be spent waiting for services. 

Mass Transit would bring much-needed additional capacity to the transport network, while also freeing up space on rail for people making longer journeys. It would be a high-quality service, helping to create an attractive alternative to the car and giving people more opportunities to leave their vehicles at home.  

We have an ambition to make West Yorkshire carbon net zero by 2028. At the moment, cars and vans account for 21% of our region’s carbon emissions, and it is time for a fundamental change. 

Mass Transit would create a better-connected West Yorkshire. It would give people the choice to leave cars at home and choose buses, trams, and trains for some journeys instead. This reduces harmful pollutants in the atmosphere, which can significantly impact our carbon reduction goals. Most mass transit systems rely on electricity through overhead lines or batteries to provide efficient and eco-friendly transport. Beyond traditional electric systems, we are exploring emerging sustainable technologies. For example, hydrogen-powered transport is one option we will consider where appropriate to meet our sustainability goals. 

We acknowledge that constructing a large transport network could have significant impacts on local environments. 

Before construction, we will produce a full Environmental Impact Assessment, develop a Code of Construction Practice that would outline our methods for mitigating the likely significant adverse effects of building the first phase of Mass Transit. Our contractors would follow these guidelines during the construction of the project. 

To reduce the environmental impact of construction, we would seek to employ innovative construction techniques, use eco-friendly materials (such as locally sourced or recycled aggregate where possible) and new technologies during the construction phase. 

Before construction, we will develop a Code of Construction Practice that would outline our methods for mitigating the adverse effects of building the first phase of Mass Transit. Our contractors would follow these guidelines during the construction of the project. 

If we identify likely significant adverse effects during the environmental assessments, we will seek to take steps to mitigate them, such as changing design proposals or implementing specific measures.  

Other work may include: 

As part of our environmental assessment work, we will be undertaking a variety of surveys from now until late 2025 and beyond, including: 

As Mass Transit would be powered by electricity, it would cause less air pollution compared to vehicles on the road powered by petrol and diesel. 

We will conduct air quality assessments to evaluate compliance with the National Air Quality Objectives set by the UK Government. As part of this, we will assess all the places along the Mass Transit routes that are sensitive to air pollution. These include homes, schools, hospitals, nursing homes and protected ecological areas.  

Mass Transit may see some localised increases in air pollution due to changes in traffic movements. However, the more we can encourage people to use Mass Transit instead of cars, the more we can expect to contribute to improving air quality. 

As part of the project’s development, we will assess environmental impacts such as air quality. We will evaluate air pollutants including dust, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon dioxide (CO2).