News

The modern brand will offer a single branding for passengers, making it easier and more accessible, however they choose to travel around the region.

It follows extensive work to explore the region’s cultural identity, including the involvement of poet laureate and West Yorkshire resident Simon Armitage.

The Weaver Network name is inspired by the region's industrial past and visually reflects the cultural fabric of modern-day West Yorkshire. It will drive forward an overriding ambition to improve lives by connecting people with places.

The new brand was officially unveiled by Mayor Tracy Brabin and West Yorkshire's five council leaders at Millennium Square in Leeds this morning (Monday 12 May).

To be cost effective, the brand will be gradually introduced, starting with existing planned replacements at bus stops and stations. The branding will then be rolled out further when buses are taken under local control from 2027, before being included on the planned West Yorkshire tram system, for which construction work will start in 2028.

Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin said: “For too long, our region has suffered from a disjointed, confusing, and increasingly hard to navigate public transport system.

“The Weaver Network is a fresh, modern identity for transport in West Yorkshire, reflecting our greater powers through devolution, as well as our ongoing work to bring buses back under public control and create a fully-integrated mass transit network.

“This will help us on our journey to creating a transport system that is easier to use, and demonstrates our ambition to create a better-connected region that works for all.”

West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee chair Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe said: “Our role within public transport in the region is constantly evolving – the Metro brand was created in 1974, and our organisation’s roles and responsibilities have changed immeasurably since then.

“With the Mayor's decision to take back control of the bus network, we are now moving towards a fully integrated transport network under one brand, replacing about 19 different brands currently in use. The Weaver Network will reflect a public transport network that the region can be proud of, while helping the public to understand who is responsible for helping them travel to where they need to be."

Simon Armitage, national Poet Laureate and West Yorkshire resident said: “I was pleased and proud to be part of a conversation about the naming of the future transport network - I’m West Yorkshire born and bred, a public transport user, a geography graduate and a poet - in many ways it was the perfect invitation.

“To me, The Weaver Network name symbolises the threads connecting people with places, shuttling to and fro, built on heritage and creating new ties and links.”

A decision was taken by the Combined Authority in January 2025 to retire the Metro brand and related identities such as Leeds Park and Ride, and CityConnect, and adopt a new brand and identity to be used across an integrated transport network for West Yorkshire.

The Weaver Network will unify public transport and active travel modes, as well as simplifying fares, travel information and journey planning.

The transition will be rolled out gradually in step with the three phases of the bus franchising programme. To ensure value for money roll out will start on a repair and replace basis, making use of existing capital spending schemes.

A report setting out the transition from the Metro to the Weaver Network brand will be brought to a future Combined Authority meeting.

For Info

• The Metro network identity will not be disappearing immediately – tickets and passes will continue to work, and our services will remain the same and passengers will be able to contact us through the usual channels. Call MetroLine on 0113 245 7676 between 7am and 8pm Monday to Saturday or 8am to 8pm on Sunday for information on services, or visit https://www.wymetro.com/contact-us/metroline/.
• The Combined Authority is working to create a franchised bus network, whereby the bus network and the majority of services will be locally-controlled. This will mean the Combined Authority sets routes, timetables, fares, and standards.
• As well as celebrating our industrial textile heritage, the Weaver Network represents the cultural diversity that makes up the fabric of West Yorkshire, inspired by the region’s geography, nature, artists and culture.
  The first franchised bus services are expected to be in operation by March 2027.

FAQs

Why are you changing the transport brand?

As we look towards the future, we believe a single, unified brand for all modes of transport and customer interfaces will help to create a consistent experience for you. Our ambition is for a transport network which is easy to navigate and simple to use.

Why change Metro?

Over four decades, Metro has been the prevalent public transport brand in West Yorkshire, delivering information and services to bus and rail passengers. However, in the last ten years, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s role in transport has grown significantly alongside gaining greater devolved powers and responsibility such as bringing buses back under public control and creating a fully integrated, multi modal network. That means we need a transport brand that reflects our ambitions and can incorporate walking, cycling, bus, train and in the future, trams.

Our research found that someone in West Yorkshire looking to plan a journey could be faced with around 50 brand identities - we run or have involvement in 19 of those. To move people onto more sustainable travel options, we need to simplify that as much as we can.

How much will it cost to rebrand?

We plan to minimise the cost by rolling out the new brand on a repair and replace basis. This means that as we repair, replace, upgrade and invest in transport infrastructure, we will apply the new branding.

This helps minimise costs, but it does mean there will be a period when multiple brands are in the public domain. This is not unusual for a brand transition of this scale and complexity.

To fully understand the costs associated with rebranding, a Brand Rollout Plan is being developed to propose options how brand implementation and will be approved at a future Combined Authority Committee meeting,

Will I still be able to contact you in the same way?

Yes, all our communications channels will remain the same for the time being, we will then update our customers when these changes happen to ensure you can access our all our services consistently.

Will I see changes straight away?

No, for now, services will remain the same, this applies to bus services, bus passes and concessionary passes, our apps and website. MCard tickets are still valid.

Now that we have had agreement to retire the Metro brand and develop a new transport brand, there’s a lot of work we need to do in the background to get the new brand ready for the region.

We’ll let you know when you might start to see changes to the logo, the name and services. This is the start of things to come, looking towards the future of public transport for the region and the improvements that will bring.

How can I keep updated on the progress of the changes?

We’ll keep you updated on progress through press releases, social media updates and on our website where relevant.

Can I give feedback on the rebranding?

We will be engaging with different groups of people at various points to capture their feedback on different aspects of the brand such as accessibility and to understand more about where you get information that helps you make decisions on travel.