There will be no charge on any West Yorkshire bus as the first day of the COP26 to raise awareness for climate-efficient transport.
Buses across West Yorkshire will be free on Sunday 31 October as part of a climate crisis initiative.
This Sunday, there will be no charge for bus journeys across Leeds, as well as journeys within or across the districts of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield.
The initiative hopes to encourage people to take public transport rather than travelling via private vehicles.
Tackling climate change and protecting the environment is one of the Mayor's top ten pledges to West Yorkshire and it is hoped that 'Free Bus Sunday' will be backed up with other eco-friendly projects in the future.
Buses will be free this Sunday to raise awareness of the COP26 in Glasgow. / Image: Zach Lee Bus Spotting
The free travel date marks the start of the COP26 UN Conference, running from Sunday 31 October until Friday 12 November.
Over 120 leaders around the world will meet to discuss what "could be the world’s best last chance to get runaway climate change under control", according to COP26 officials.
Over 25,000 people in total will attend the event in Glasgow, including Tracy Babin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire.
She has spoken about her plans for West Yorkshire and the environment since taking her position in May 2021.
Babin has states that ideally, buses will be the "first choice for travel in West Yorkshire- not just because you don't have a car, but because they're more affordable, convenient to use and better for the planet".
The event comes after Leeds bus network was granted an extra £270 million to revamp the network to create a London-style system.
It is in addition to existing offers that have been put in place since this announcement, including the £1 bus fare in Leeds city centre after 7pm and the £1 return Leeds to York bus from City Zap that runs on a Wednesday.
The Mayor hopes to see as many people taking advantage of 'Free Bus Sunday' and that there will be even more occasions where free buses are available to the people of West Yorkshire in the future.
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Leeds Tattoo Expo to return to the First Direct Arena for 10th anniversary
Clementine Hall
The tenth annual Leeds Tattoo Expo will showcase some of the best in tattooing both local and internationally.
If you fancy getting yourself a fancy new bit of ink, then look no further than the iconic Leeds Tattoo Expo that will be returning to the First Direct Arena this June.
Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025, over 200 tattooists and 70 traders will be flocking to the city to show off their skills.
And not only that, but there’ll also be a whole host of market traders for you to browse as well as live music to have a boogie to.
The artists will be tattooing with options for both pre-booked appointments and walk ups available throughout the weekend.
Image: Leeds Tattoo Expo
There will also be a piercer, tooth gems and a henna artist ready to adorn your body.
Alongside getting tattooed, there’s plenty to do and to see over the whole weekend; there'll be an alternative drawing class, an illustrators market with kids’ workshops provided by Art Gecko, an art fusion event on the main stage, burlesque performances and competitions, a small vintage clothing pop-up, fire breathing and break dancing demonstrations in the square outside the arena.
The annual tattoo competitions will also be taking place each evening, where tattooists showcase their work to a panel of judges, sponsored by Killer Ink!
To celebrate Leeds Tattoo Expo's tenth anniversary, they'll be hosting a Pre-Party at Belgrave Music Hall on Thursday 5 June which is a completely free entry event complete with live music and free pizza.
You can find out more about the event and book your tickets here via the First Direct Arena's website.
Sophie Smith -
28th October 2021 
