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 Leeds Gets the Go-ahead £300 million scheme on track for 2011/12 |
   
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Leeds Gets the Go-ahead £300 million scheme on track for 2011/12 |
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The West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority (Metro) has now received commitment from the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly’s Regional Transport Board to fund Britain's first modern trolleybus scheme. With approval from the Department for Transport, the £300 million scheme will open in 2011/12 over 3 core routes, serving the north, east and south of Leeds.
 The network is planned to include 3 routes -  North Line - Bodington Park+Ride, Headingley, Woodhouse, Civic Centre East Line - Seacroft Park+Ride, Brooklands, Harehills, Civic Centre South Line - Stourton Park+Ride, Hunslet, Crown Point, Civic CentreAll three routes are designed to reduce car useage in an enticing and environmentally benign way and thus reduce congestion and emissions both from the passenger vehicles themselves and from saved car journeys. In Metro's view, this can only be achieved in a cost effective way by using high quality trolleybuses. 
To make carrying people from the Park and Ride stations as appealing as possible, the routes will run in new, segregated busways and bus-only lanes for as much as possible of the journey. They will have first preference at traffic lights and junctions so as to make the trip fast and comfortable. Again, only trolleybuses can achieve the quietness and smoothness required in this context. Regeneration of areas now to be served by the routes, such as Harehills, Seacroft and Hunslet, will benefit from the permanence inferred by the overhead power supply. Business can be assured of high quality public transit as a solid basis for investment in areas that will have easy and convenient access.  Critical too, will be routing the Trolleybus Rapid Transit to Eastgate Quarters Project to enable the car-free, revitalized retail development and housing to succeed in the City Centre. The Transit will also serve all of the Universities in Leeds.  New generation trolleybus rapid transit will be able to provide world class ride comfort on relaid road surfaces that will demonstrate the potential of the technology to make a major contribution to the future of urban transportation that is both a non-emitter of greenhouse gases and a genuine alternative to car travel. 
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