Councillors at a West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority (WYITA) Executive Board meeting have agreed that Metro will investigate ways of keeping a Leeds city centre shuttle bus running, after Leeds City Council's withdrawal of funding for the FreeCityBus service.

"This is a valuable service which has been used by over 7½ million passengers since we introduced it in January 2006," said Metro Vice Chairman Cllr Ryk Downes.

"Many people have indicated that they would be prepared to pay a small charge to use the service so rather than lose it, I think it is important we should investigate how this might be put in place.

Quick and easy

"The FreeCityBus was introduced as a quick and easy way of getting around Leeds city centre and the time taken to collect fares, issue tickets and give change could slow it down to the point where for many people it would no longer be an attractive option," continued Cllr Downes.

"However with an exact-money-only, flat-rate fare, it may be possible to continue running a MetroCityBus service around a city centre loop without slowing it down too much and at no extra cost to Metro."

Metro will continue discussions with bus operators about running the service for a trial period from the start of April while the impact of introducing a small, yet-to-be-decided, fare can be assessed.

Limiting congestion

Metro Chairman Cllr Chris Greaves said research had shown that by providing frequent links between rail stations, bus stations and key city centre locations the FreeCityBus encouraged people to leave their cars at home and use connecting trains and buses instead, which helped limit congestion on the city's roads.

He also said that people with mobility problems, older people and parents with young children had reported that they found the services particularly useful.