This small French city is the model for an integrated tram and bus system in West Yorkshire

Ms Haigh, the Sheffield Heeley MP, announced plans for a new integrated national transport strategy, the first in a quarter of a century.

It will look to expand the model of the Bee Network in Greater Manchester, which brings together bus, metro and active travel under one name and payment system, across the country.

Mayor Tracy Brabin has long sought to bring in an integrated transport network in West Yorkshire.

By 2028, all of the region’s buses will be under public control, and Ms Brabin has pledged spades will be in the ground to build the tram system linking up Leeds and Bradford.

She said: “A better integrated public transport system is vital to growing our economy.

“In West Yorkshire, I have big plans for a world-leading mass transit system that will be fully integrated with railways and a publicly controlled bus network, helping people to access new jobs and opportunities across the region.

“The Secretary of State's new Integrated National Transport Strategy will support me and other mayors to deliver on our ambition for better-connected and faster growing regions.”

Ms Haigh made the announcement in Leeds, which is the largest city in Europe without a mass transit system.

She said: “Integrated transport in this country is lagging behind our European counterparts, and for too long our fragmented transport networks have stunted economic growth and made it harder for people to get around.

“I’m launching a new national vision of transport that seamlessly joins all modes of transport together, and puts people at the heart of our transport system.

“I want everyone to be able to contribute to this vision and have launched a call for ideas on how the strategy can best deliver greater opportunity, healthier communities and better lives.”

The Transport Secretary has looked to Dijon, in eastern France, for inspiration, having visited the city earlier this year.

The capital of Burgundy is roughly the size of York and has buses every five minutes in rush hour, the tram running every three minutes and has a dial-a-ride service to outlying villages.

It also has a single app that brings together every mode of transport – from bus to tram, car and bike hire and even paying for parking.

Ms Haigh believes this should be the model for England and the North.

Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: “Transport is not an end in itself. Agglomeration of economies beyond London and the South East is essential if we are to address the lower productivity levels in all our cities compared to their counterparts in Europe.

“The Greater Manchester tram drove productivity growth in all the places it connected, not just in Manchester city centre, as well as increasing desirability and value of housing closest to the tram stops.

“Similarly, towns such as Huddersfield and Halifax are seeing productivity increasing rapidly as people can access both cities to their east like Leeds as well as West to Manchester.”

The Transport Secretary also announced that metro mayors, like Ms Brabin, will have a statutory role on Great British Railways, the central body which will oversee rail once the franchises have been nationalised.