SCHOOLS, hospitals and other key services in Bradford can be reached on foot or by public transport in an average of 15 minutes or under, figures show.

In its recently published Levelling Up white paper, the Government pledged to bring public transport connectivity across the country in line with London standards by 2030.

Each year, the Department for Transport calculates journey times from neighbourhoods to eight local services by walking or via public transport.

DfT data shows in Bradford journey times to these services, which include large workplaces, secondary schools, hospitals, food shops and town centres, averaged 15 minutes in 2019.

Meanwhile, the average journey time to reach the same services in London – which boasts the fastest travel times nationally – was around 12 minutes.

The figures show it took Bradford residents 32 minutes to reach a hospital, 15 to get to a secondary school, eight to reach a food store and 11 minutes to get to the nearest large employment centre on foot or via public transport in 2019.

In comparison, it takes Londoners around 27 minutes to reach a hospital, 13 to get to a secondary school, six to get to a food shop and seven minutes to get to work.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, the average journey time in 2019 was 18 minutes.

Paul Tuohy, chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said figures showed there is a "long way to go" in ensuring everyone can access places they need to go by public transport.

"There has to be the funding available to introduce services where there currently aren't any, and improve services where they aren't good enough."

A spokesperson for First West Yorkshire said: “It's good to see journey times on public transport in Bradford are comparing well with the region as a whole and nationally.

“Continued improvements to the road network and protecting the introduction of further bus priority measures and supporting this approach is important as it helps provide consistent journey times to maintain reliability and limit congestion.

“We are working hard with our partners to achieve this and the current works on the A647 between Bradford and Leeds, an important commuting corridor, is a prime example of creating better links for work and leisure travel within the area.”

A spokesperson for Northern said: “We’re proud to play our part in bringing people across the North of England closer together. Bradford sits at the heart of our network, with both Forster Square and Interchange connecting local communities with neighbouring towns and cities.”