大象传媒

Rima Ahmed takes the bus into Leeds and tries to find out why it is 鈥渢he biggest city in Western Europe without a mass transit system鈥�.
Rima meets passengers, campaigners and history buffs as well as local politicians to delve into why the city has had so many failed attempts to improve its public transport system since its tram was abolished in 1959.

Leeds was a transport pioneer - it introduced the first electric trams and trolleybuses in the country. In the 1970s and 80s, local councillors proudly declared Leeds 鈥渢he motorway city鈥� hailing the building of a massive urban motorway right through the city centre. In the 1990s, Sheffield was already building its supertram network and Leeds was also asking government to fund its own version. Despite funding being approved in 2001, 拢70 million had been wasted by the time Leeds鈥檚 supertram project was pulled by Transport Secretary Alastair Darling in 2005. A 鈥渢rolleybus鈥� scheme mooted in 2012 was also scrapped.

Now, the citizens of Leeds have been told that, if they are lucky, they may get a new mass transit system by 2040. Work may begin sometime by the end of the decade. In the meantime, the commuters of Leeds continue to live life in the bus lane.

Presenter: Rima Ahmed
Producer: Johnathan I'Anson
Sound mix: Craig Boardman
Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: Nicola Addyman