The Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin has unveiled a new transport brand in Leeds as the region moves towards an integrated network with franchised buses and a new tram system.
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00:00Today is the launch of our integrated transport brand, the Weaver Network, and it suggests that we are weaving our way through communities, but also our heritage and our past as a home of textiles, but also our communities, so whether that's Harry's tweed or the fabric of saris, and you'll see that the W is in fact a zigzag stitch.
00:23When I first became mayor, I understood the only way I can grow the economy of West Yorkshire and make life better for people is to improve transport, because too many people are utterly isolated in deserts without transport and connections. We can do better.
00:39Why is it that London and the South East has this fantastic integrated transport plan? This is my ambition, to have that tap in, tap out, integrated plan, where you don't have to worry about what things cost because you know it's going to be capped.
00:54I know that's going to boost our economy and enable people to get to those opportunities, those jobs, that training, cultural events, without worrying about how they get home.
01:04What's going to happen is, as different bus companies' contracts come up for renewal, they're going to be brought under public control, so it won't be an immediate rollout of everything, it'll be gradual over the next few years.
01:13It will take a bit of time to implement, because obviously we have to wait for contracts to renew, but actually what we're going to see in West Yorkshire is what we already see in London and in Manchester, where you've got that interconnected journeys, it means you won't be having to pay double if you've got to get, you know, off one type of bus and onto another, and linking it all up with the trains,
01:32and then eventually the new trams as well.
01:34It's really important for us as a region, we have so much to offer, the opportunity is there, my mission is to give us that integrated plan.