Transport Insights

Fresh from hiding a damning report about her mass transit plans, West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin has been caught in another transparency row – accused of locking bus users out of planning for franchising and taking decisions in secret.

The Yorkshire Evening Post (YEP) reports:

Campaigners in West Yorkshire are calling for “more transparency” from the Mayor’s office on bus franchising plans.

Better Buses West Yorkshire staged a ‘People’s Question Time’ protest outside the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s (WYCA) offices on Wellington Street, Leeds this morning. This was aimed at highlighting how local bus groups feel they have been locked out of decisions about their bus services.

Green “Weaver Network” buses are due to hit the streets from next year after Brabin decided in 2024 to bring public transport back under public control, despite pressure from bus operators.

But Cristiana Mirosanu, Green councillor for Chapel Allerton ward (where I used to live), told the YEP:

We demand more transparency about how decisions are made and actual public ownership. We want people to be involved from all areas in co-producing the bus routes and bus stops, so that it actually serves the communities.

All the decisions should be made with the people who are directly affected by them. It should be led by the public, not just saying ‘we have a consultation, fill out this public form.’ We need everyone to come together to solve any issues.

Better Buses for West Yorkshire are calling for all decisions around bus reform, including franchise tender documents, to be made public, so users can see what decisions are being made and say public scrutiny during West Yorkshire Combined Authority business is essential to holding it and Brabin to account.

But here’s the rub:

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority has categorically denied any suggestion of secrecy, branding it as “incorrect,” and confirmed that no decisions are taken in shadow board meetings.

The authority explained that these meetings are instead designed to allow detailed and commercially confidential information to be shared with elected members to allow them to be informed and make timely decisions in publicly-accessible meetings.

It absolutely sounds as if the real decisions are taken in secret with councillors going through the motions in public.

Because they happen before the formal meeting, they are not subject to statutory transparency rules; agendas, papers and minutes are not published and the public cannot attend. They are an obvious tool for pre-cooking what happens in the public session.