Passengers at West Yorkshire bus stations, including Bradford Interchange, Halifax, Huddersfield and Leeds can now take advantage of free wi-fi.
Providing users with access to free wi-fi at its eight busiest facilities is part of the Combined Authority’s current project with BT to upgrade CCTV coverage across all of 25 of its West Yorkshire bus stations.
When they enter any of these eight bus stations, people will now find that they have the option of connecting for free with ‘WYCA Public’ through the BT network. Connecting for the first time requires a one-time registration process to make sure their device is recognised on the next visit to one of West Yorkshire’s Metro bus stations.
As part of the £1.2 million scheme, which is being delivered in partnership with Leeds City Council, around 230 new Bosch HD cameras have been installed at the Combined Authority’s 25 Metro bus stations. The cameras, which replace the current analogue cameras, are connected to a high-speed CCTV fibre network, which is also providing the free wi-fi access and a new and improved staff radio communications channel.
The joint project will also see improvements made to the Combined Authority’s CCTV monitoring centre in Leeds. It has resulted in significant operational cost-savings, and will pay for itself within four years.
Cllr Kim Groves, Chair of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transport Committee, said:
“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.”
