Councillor Chris Greaves, West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority Chairman, accompanied by Mick Lyons, PTA Shadow Chairman, was delighted when Metro picked up 'Passenger Transport Authority of the Year' for an unprecedented fourth time at last night's 'National Transport Awards' in London.

"Passengers in West Yorkshire have benefited from the ongoing roll out of the yournextbus real-time information system, and the introduction of hugely popular Free Town and City buses in Huddersfield and Wakefield, based upon the enormous success of Leeds FreeCityBus," said Cllr Greaves.

"Earlier this year the 150th My Bus entered service marking the completion of Metro's ground breaking Yellow Bus scheme. Two thousand Year Six pupils from almost 60 West Yorkshire schools have just completed our annual Junior SAFEMark training, and David Blunkett and his Yellow School Bus Commission colleagues described our award-winning My bus yellow bus scheme - now transporting 9,000 pupils to and from 135 schools every day - as 'excellent," continued Cllr Greaves.

"Other recent successes include the development of a long-term Transport Vision for the Leeds City Region, which contains proposals for rail improvements, including greater capacity and further electrification, road developments, new bus initiatives, the introduction of tram-trains and a potential trolleybus-based network."

The updated Vision is due for completion later this year when it will be presented to the Department for Transport and Ministers as a key tool in enabling the Leeds City Region to reach its full potential.

Cllr Lyons said "Metro has continued to work with its many partners including bus and train operators to improve the travel experience for the people of West Yorkshire and to encourage more people onto the network".

"Metro was also the proud the recipient of the Joe Clarke PTA of the Year Award in 2001, 2002, and 2003," added Cllr Lyons.

"We are particularly proud to have won PTA of the Year for a record-breaking fourth time, because it is awarded by our colleagues in the transport industry," said Councillor Greaves. "It is a tremendous tribute to the hard work of Metro staff and the members of the Passenger Transport Authority, in developing public transport in West Yorkshire and putting passengers first.

"I can assure the people of West Yorkshire that we will continue to strive on their behalf to develop the high-quality public transport system they expect and deserve," added Cllr Greaves.

Future plans include a new £11m southern entrance for Leeds Rail Station to provide a vital link to the fast-growing area to the south of the city centre, the £28m roll-out of the Yorcard smartcard scheme (across the whole of the Yorkshire and Humber region), currently being tested in South Yorkshire, and the development of new stations on the rail network including a £20m East Leeds Parkway with parking for 500 cars.