Transport in Leeds
[4] Plans are in place to improve public transport in Leeds, making it a car free city with upgrades to railway, bus services, and cycle lanes.
[9] However, following a review in November 2015, there have also been proposals to instead add the HS2 platforms as an extension to the existing Leeds station.
Originally built to transport coal from Middleton Colliery to Leeds, the railway is now a heritage piece.
The railway effectively runs the length of Middleton Park, joining onto the national rail network at the northern end.
It is also a principal hub of the national motorway network, with the M1 and M62 intersecting in the south east of the city and the A1(M) running along its eastern border.
In 2017, Leeds had introduced a Clean Air Zone and provided financial support to businesses to promote the adoption of cleaner vehicles.
[14] The railway station has a dedicated public hire taxi rank that operates 24 hours a day.
The road is designated as a motorway, and describes a semicircle round the western, northern and eastern parts of the city centre.
(Here, it meets the East Leeds Link Road (A63), which provides fast connections to the M1 junction 45 at Skelton Lake.)
The IRR continues over the River Aire using the John Smeaton Viaduct as a high quality dual carriageway on a flyover, meeting the M621 at Junction 4 Hunslet.
This involved no actual engineering or construction work, but the remaking of the city's entire one way system.
The A64 is an important trunk road, heading as an unbroken dual carriageway to the outskirts of York and then on to Scarborough.
Added to this, the A61 expressway to the north links the northern suburbs of Leeds to the city centre, and onto Harrogate and Ripon.
The A660 and A65 dual carriageways link the commuter belts to the north west of the city and onto the Lancashire, meeting the A650.
Other smaller operators providing services in the city include Connexionsbuses, Station Coaches and Yorkshire Buses.
An electric bicycle rental scheme, Leeds City Bikes, operated by Beryl, opened in September 2023.
[25] Users must download an app, and can pay on a one-off basis or buy a pass or a "bundle" of minutes as a regular customer.
The Leeds extension of the Dales Way follows the Meanwood Valley Trail before it branches off to head towards Ilkley and Windermere.
Leeds' tram system was dismantled in the early 1950s (as was the case in most cities) with the final services running in November 1959.
By the time the tram network was dismantled it had become unpopular with many people in Leeds, due to its ageing, draughty and poorly maintained fleet.
Neighbouring Bradford lost its trolley bus system during the same era (the final journey being made in 1972).
Leeds Bradford Airport is located to the north-west of the city and has scheduled flights to destinations within Europe plus Egypt and Turkey.
Since the arrival of budget airline Jet2 (who chose Leeds Bradford as their base) the airport has experienced a considerable increase in passenger numbers.
In 2007 the five metropolitan councils of West Yorkshire sold the airport to Bridgepoint Capital for in excess of £140 million.
In 2014, a free river taxi service was introduced between Leeds Dock and Granary Wharf; operated by boats "Twee" and "Drei".
[39] Works and programmes concerned with transportation improvements for the city are reported on the Connecting Leeds website.
