Once again, decent transport for our region is a non-starter

LONDON gets tens of billions for transport improvements while the rest of the country makes do with a measly £630m.

I know that it is essential for Britain that London retains its status as a “world city” and an efficient transport system is needed for this, but what is the good of a British “world city” if the rest of Britain has gone to the dogs through lack of mobility? Something wrong here.

As regards the funding that Yorkshire is to get for transport infrastructure, Yorkshire has been playing second fiddle to Greater Manchester for a long time, look at the motorway system around Manchester compared to Leeds or Sheffield.

Manchester is also getting funded large additions to its tram system.

Sheffield cannot even have more trams, and Leeds, far from having the funds made available for its own tram system cannot even get funding for a far inferior trolleybus system. Are Greater Manchester councillors and MPs better at being vocal than the ones in Yorkshire?

Of course, the Government has cleverly got rid of the one body, Yorkshire Forward, that did often successfully speak up for Yorkshire, just before this body was needed – before the announcement of what was not going to be funded, replacing this with fragmentated and probably less-effective smaller local bodies.

The one thing that Greater Manchester has got over Yorkshire is that it is not regionally divided as Yorkshire is.

Perhaps it is time for these regions to forget their differences and to form one body, even if it at first it has not got official status, to speak up for Yorkshire as regards transport?

From: C Giddings, Springwood Drive, Copley Lane, Halifax.

Referring to the article “New blow over city trolleybus funding” (Yorkshire Post, February 5), it seems that no matter how well the case is presented, the Leeds proposal is pushed further to the bottom of the funding list. As you mention in your Editorial, Leeds is perhaps one of the largest European cities without a rapid transit system.

Another question that should be asked of Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, and which you posed in your Editorial, is just what has Leeds done to offend governments, past and present, to the extent that they are left without such a long awaited and much needed revitalised transport system? It matters not whether one is a commuter or a shopper/visitor, Leeds is one of the most difficult and congested cities to acess without a creditable park and ride or rapid transit system.

Golden opportunities and millions of pounds have been wasted on surveys and investigations into transport in Leeds with very little to show for all the work involved.

A public transport system worthy of the stature of Leeds is well overdue and should be a matter of urgent and serious consideration by the Government.

From: James Bovington, Church Grove, Horsforth, Leeds.

Your Editorial (Yorkshire Post, February 5) stating that “Leeds is one of the largest cities in Europe without a rapid transport system” is just too kind to our local powers that be.

I’d wager that Leeds is the largest city in the OECD, that is, developed countries outside the US, without such a system, and of course America is itself moving towards rail-based rapid transport everywhere.

My preference would be for a tunnel that wouldn’t cut the city centre in half but I don’t know of a transport authority anywhere else that would be so inherently negative about the proposal for the Bradford Cross Rail, citing lack of demand. Don’t they know that demand is both latent and unfulfilled, or expressed in untold avoidable car journeys?

The fact is that Metro, and unambitious local politicians, have no public transport vision for our city region, apart from to tidy the street furniture betwen the two stations in Bradford and saddle us with a trolleybus in Leeds. If you think that I am being unfair, please could I have an answer to the question that I am tired of asking: How come that I can go from Horsforth by rail and do my shopping at The Metro Centre in Gateshead or Meadowhall in Sheffield but can’t do so at our own White Rose, because there is no station, despite assurances that there would be when it was built? So much for being “green”.

I won’t hold my breath waiting for an answer.