A BUS company's expansion plans should help to ease congestion in Leeds – but more commuters need to think about leaving their cars at home.
That is the message from Leeds's biggest bus operator, First, which says its move to a new £10m headquarters this month will play a major role in tackling worsening congestion.
The garage and office complex in Donisthorpe Street, Hunslet, will giv
e First space to be able to introduce an extra 30 buses over the next year.
First will close its current headquarters in Kirkstall Road – a public transport operation location since 1897 – and move 550 of its staff on Sunday, May 18.
The extra buses, planned for this year and 2009, will bring First's fleet in Leeds up to 480 vehicles and allow it to run more bus services in the city.
A First spokesman said: "This will allow some of the 93,000 car drivers travelling into the city centre at peak times each day to seriously consider the alternative of leaving their cars at home."
The location of the new 77,000 sq ft depot near the new east Leeds link road and with easy access to the Leeds inner ring road, was chosen by First partly because it allows a move away from the heavily congested Kirkstall Road area.
The bus company is to invest £14m in 95 buses in the next 12 months. It will continue to run its depots at Cherry Row (near St James's Hospital) and Bramley, from where the remainder of its vehicles and staff will operate.
The new depot – to be called Hunslet Park – will have a capacity of 200 buses and there is the option of expansion in the future.
Its location will allow buses quick access to the city centre, bus station and main routes.
And the new depot had a better system for washing buses, leaving them cleaner, said a spokesman.
The latest engineering facilities at the new depot would enable buses to be worked on in well-equipped, well-lit and very safe surroundings, added the spokesman.
The managing director of First in Leeds, Steve Graham, said: "This is an exciting time for our staff and customers as First continues its multi-million pound investment programme in the city.
"This new site will prove to be a massive boost for people in Leeds as it will give immediate capacity for extra buses, which will play a significant part in easing road congestion all across the city.
"The new site is well located on the new east Leeds link which will give First buses easier access onto the ring road and into Leeds city centre. This in turn will allow the firm to reduce its fuel consumption in its vehicles and therefore reduce its carbon footprint.
"Some 550 of our 1,400 staff will also benefit from working at a new and modern location with a variety of benefits such as new locker rooms and catering facilities."
Kirkstall Road depot was built in 1897 to house public transport vehicles at a cost of £45,000. The site has continued to play an important role in providing a base for public transport in the city since that date and will close its doors for the final time on May 18.
The Kirkstall Road site will then be commercially redeveloped.
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