Keir Starmer to give Yorkshire mayors 'sweeping' London-style powers over public transport
Yorkshire’s mayors are to be given powers to timetable local railway services combined with ‘London-style’ integrated transport payments for using trains, buses and trams.
Details have been revealed in advance of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner launching the Government’s English Devolution White Paper in Leeds today.
The Observer reported that mayors will work in partnership with Great British Railways and will have the ability to seek the right to determine when trains run and what routes they take.
The measures will be tied in with the introductions of contactless payment systems allowing people to tap in and out of journeys on public transport rather than paying for each as an individual journey.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer told The Yorkshire Post: “The Mayor of London has long enjoyed sweeping transport powers that allow the full integration of rail, bus, tube and tram services. This has led to London having one of the best public transport systems in the world, with bus services typically cheaper than other parts of England.
“As part of our vision, those powers will belong to every mayor in the country including across Yorkshire.”
The paper is also expected to include new powers for mayors across strategic planning – allowing them more ability to guide infrastructure and development projects in their regions. Meanwhile, county and district councils are to be phased out in favour of new mayors and unitary authorities in the same way to what has already occurred in North Yorkshire.
Ms Rayner, is expected to tell today’s launch event in Yorkshire: “Our English Devolution White Paper will be a turning point when we finally see communities, people and places across England begin to take back control over the things that matter to them.
“Devolution will no longer be agreed at the whim of a Minister in Whitehall, but embedded in the fabric of the country, becoming the default position of government.”