24 July 2009

Secretary of State for Transport Andrew Adonis welcomed a new £1.8m fleet of brand new buses for Metro's AccessBus service with Chairman Cllr Ryk Downes, during a visit to Leeds on Friday 24 July.

Cllr Downes showed Andrew Adonis one of 19 brand new, fully accessible Optare Solo SE vehicles which Metro has purchased in a major renewal of its AccessBus fleet.

West Yorkshire people unable to easily use conventional buses use AccessBus’s door-to-door service to make 550,000 journeys each year. Most AccessBus trips take service users to local supermarkets and shopping centres but there are also some journeys to other locations such as community centres and churches.

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said, "We want older people and those with reduced mobility to have the same travel opportunities when using public transport as other members of society.

"Metro's AccessBus service provides an important lifeline for many people in West Yorkshire, and these new fully accessible buses will make it even easier for people who are unable to use conventional bus services to get around."

Cllr Downes said, “Metro has worked closely with the Yorkshire bus manufacturer Optare to develop the new vehicles’ more flexible layout.

“The new buses are ‘kneeling’ vehicles with ramps to make boarding easier and quicker for the many wheelchair users and people with reduced mobility.

“They also have additional storage space designed into them which will mean extra room for people’s shopping when returning from trips to the supermarket and the fact they are slightly narrower and shorter means they could access the residential streets, where AccessBus clients live.”

Metro will be introducing all 19 of the new AccessBus vehicles by the end of August.