WSP transforms Leeds bus network to double usage and save CO2

A radical transformation of Leeds’ bus network will double usage within ten years and save as much CO2 per year as 23 million mature trees could absorb.

Location

Leeds, England, UK

Client

Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority

Project Value

Project value

Project Status

Completion 2021

Making buses faster and more reliable will see them replace cars as the first choice for travelling around the city, as well as to and from commuter communities along key transport corridors.

The schemes on which WSP is working will underpin this step change. They include improvements to infrastructure such as bus lanes, junctions, intelligent traffic signals, park and ride sites, and bus shelters – as well as cycling and walking infrastructure and public realm.

Using the bespoke greenhouse gas assessment tool we developed, we calculated that every year the scheme will replace car journeys equivalent to between 9 and 10 return trips to the moon. This will save 500,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Our Services

In partnership with local government, bus operators and contractors, we are:

Identifying and developing schemes to preliminary design
Securing government funding through the devolved assurance process
Overseeing contractors’ design and delivery of schemes

Providing project and programme management expertise.

Rise in bus use in 10 years

100% 100%

Tonnes reduction in CO2 emissions per year

500,000 500,000

New low-emission buses

250 250

Many off-the-shelf greenhouse gas assessment tools focus solely on carbon emissions from construction, so we invested in researching and developing a bespoke tool to model the whole-life savings. This means we can be confident of the long-term contribution the project will make to achieving net zero.

Simon Pope Technical Director, WSP

In focus: beyond buses

Our work on the LPTIP will generate wide-ranging benefits that go beyond the emissions saved by switching journeys from cars to buses.

As well as completely reimagining the bus network to vastly improve passengers’ journeys, the wider project being delivered with a range of partners will introduce electric and low-emission vehicles, create more accessible public realm and support active travel.

Five electric buses will serve the 1,200-space park and ride site at Stourton. The first fully electric park and ride in the UK, it will include solar panels on the terminal buildings and on canopies around the site.

Designing the new bus infrastructure has given us opportunities to significantly improve cycling and walking infrastructure around the city – including wider footways and cycleways. The public realm will also benefit, with 80 mature trees planted in the redesigned areas around the two city-centre gateways.

Integrating sustainable urban drainage into the new infrastructure will reduce runoff and lessen the resulting flood risk – an important consideration in a city that has been hit by flooding in recent years.