Free wi-fi is now available at the eight busiest West Yorkshire Combined Authority-managed Metro bus stations.
The access free wi-fi is provided for passengers at the Bradford Interchange, Castleford, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Keighley, Leeds and Pontefract sites as part of the Combined Authority’s current £1.2m project with BT to upgrade CCTV coverage at all 25 of its West Yorkshire bus stations.
The scheme, which is also being delivered in partnership with Leeds City Council, has involved around 230 new Bosch HD cameras being installed at the bus stations. Replacing current analogue cameras, they connect to a high-speed CCTV fibre network that is also providing the free wi-fi access and a new and improved staff radio communications channel.
Improvements will also be made to the Leeds-based CCTV monitoring centre of the Combined Authority, which says the project has already resulted in significant operational cost-savings and will pay for itself within four years.
“Passengers are increasingly used to having access to free wi-fi on buses and trains and we were keen to use the opportunity of upgrading our CCTV to provide people at our busiest bus stations with a similar service,” says Cllr Kim Groves, Chair of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transport Committee.
