Major improvements will be taking place to bus services operating along the A61 bus guideway on Scott Hall Road between April and September 2011 as a result of a partnership between Metro, First and Leeds City Council.
This includes the introduction of a £7m fleet of 22 brand-new hybrid buses. Powered by a combination of batteries and conventional diesel, the new buses produce 35% lower carbon emissions. First successfully bid for £1.7m from the Department for Transport’s Green Bus Fund to help finance the new buses, and will invest the remaining £5.3m.
Kinder & quieter
As well as being kinder to the local environment, the new vehicles are quieter than conventional buses. Not only will the new, silver, double-deck buses have more seats than those that currently use the Scott Hall Road guideway but those seats will be leather, meaning more comfort for passengers.
From Sunday 1 May, all of First’s services using the A61 guided busway will be branded as the ‘7 Series’ and service changes will be implemented to enable a combined, enhanced, frequency of 10 minutes or better. Service 35 to Alwoodley will become the 7A, service 45 to Shadwell will become the 7S, service 71 to the King Lane Park & Ride and Wigton Moor will become service 7 and the X35 to the King Lane Park & Ride and Alwoodley will become the X7.
In preparation for the arrival of the new vehicles, Metro and Leeds City Council are making improvements to the guideway.
Overall improvements
Metro will be carrying out an intensive clean of shelters along the route and is introducing additional yournextbus real-time information displays, timetable cases and litter bins at stops. Leeds 
City Council has re-surfaced sections of the guide-way and will be carrying out improvements to infrastructure at the King Lane Park and Ride site and trialling a new grass infill for the centre of the guideway track to improve its overall appearance.
Dave Alexander, First UK Bus Regional Managing Director (North), said: “This multi-million pound investment in new environmentally-friendly buses and the guideway facilities is a major boost for Leeds and demonstrates our commitment to improving services for our customers in partnership with Metro and Leeds City Council.
Latest design
“These new vehicles are of the latest design in terms of being environmentally friendly. They provide benefits for our customers as well as the Leeds community as a whole. They provide a credible alternative to some car journeys and offer people choice when they are travelling into and out of Leeds.”
“When we opened them, each of the guideways provided improvements in terms of journey times, reliability and comfort which was reflected by higher passenger numbers along the routes,” said Metro Chairman Cllr Chris Greaves.
“This new partnership is now providing passengers with quieter, more-comfortable, and cleaner vehicles, better service frequencies, improved surroundings and infrastructure, and enhanced information, which will help to make this ‘7 Series’ sheer riding pleasure.”
Future of the bus industry
“I am delighted to be welcoming these new hybrid vehicles to Leeds,” said Cllr Richard Lewis, Leeds City Council’s executive member responsible for city development.
“This represents the future of the bus industry with clear benefits for the environment. These buses will produce less pollution and be much quieter and because there will more of them, passengers can expect shorter waiting times.
“We will also be carrying out improvements to the routes, installing a grassed central guide-way for example, to make the route more attractive and tidier, in partnership with the Metro and First.”
There will be a targeted promotional campaign along the routes to raise local awareness of the improvements and changes and work with primary schools, which will include pupils naming the buses after people who have put Leeds on the map.
