Sweeping changes are planned to bus services in Huddersfield and the rest of West Yorkshire.
And a major move could see London’s new Routemaster bus, with its three doors, coming to the streets of the region.
The buses have doors at the front, centre and rear.
Coupled with new ticket systems, transport chiefs believe a fleet of the buses would help passengers get on and off more easily, speeding up journeys.
But it could cost many millions of pounds.
First West Yorkshire, which serves over 100m customer journeys a year, is launching a consultation on its proposal for a ‘New Bus for West Yorkshire’.
The three-part proposal includes introducing new buses based on the London Routemaster, introducing smart card ticketing similar to the Oyster card used in London and working with councils and highways officials to unblock hold-ups by tackling congestion hot spots.
That could mean changes to road layouts and traffic signals to try and reduce delays.
An exhibition outlining the package along with one of the new buses, is on show for the rest of this week to local politicians, council officers, business representatives and community and transport groups. After that it will go on tour around the county to get feedback from communities across West Yorkshire.
Critics have condemned the cost for the buses, which are priced at just over £350,000 each.
But champions of the fleet say the buses have the most technologically advanced hybrid, fuel efficient engines which will reduce CO2 emissions by nearly half over standard diesel buses.
First’s Head of Commercial, Paul Turner, said: “We want to test the reaction of people across West Yorkshire to the package of measures we are proposing which we believe could radically transform public transport in West Yorkshire. Over the coming weeks we will be consulting with politicians, businesses and the public to gain their views.
“The other factors that will determine whether we go ahead with this significant investment are the completion of a bus partnership agreement with Metro and the new West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
“Negotiations have been going on between all the bus operators and Metro for a couple of years now and we need the agreement to provide the stability necessary to make major investment decisions. In other areas, similar partnership agreements have led to significant fare reductions and increases in passenger numbers.”
First bus in West Yorkshire runs over 100m customer journeys a year with a fleet of 900 buses and almost 3,000 staff.
