The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority has today (23 October) launched a three-month public consultation to allow everyone the chance to comment on Mayor Oliver Coppard’s plan to franchise the region’s bus services to bring them under more public control.
A franchised service would see the mayoral authority take ownership of the bus fleet and depots and deciding on routes, timetables, service standards, fares and tickets. The service would also link up with trams, which are already under mayoral control, and eventually trains as well.
South Yorkshire’s bus services
Martin Swales, chief executive of the mayoral authority, said during a launch event at Sheffield Interchange on Pond Street:
“Franchising in essence is about the opportunity to take buses under public control. The consultation from today will run until 15 January and then the outcomes from that and the views and feedback that we get from our residents, businesses and communities will all feed into the decision that the mayor makes in March on franchising.
“We’ll have control over buses which we’ll own, we’ll own the depots and have control over fare levels and types of tickets. There are about 100 types of tickets right now across 23 different bus companies.
“We will be able to determine routes and times. The mayoral combined authority will also be able to determine a single brand for the service and able to integrate it with the tram and in time with the train too.
“This would be a big step forward in providing the London style of integrated public transport system we would want for South Yorkshire over time.”
Swales set out the timetable for the process. “The first buses that we would anticipate operating would be at the back end of 2027. There is a formal process set out by the government about the bus franchising assessment and about the consultation.
“We have learned from those who have gone before us and have done a great job. Manchester took about seven years and was a trailblazer on it – so far it has taken us about two years.
“In reality we have done this extremely swiftly. We have to follow that formal process set out by the government.”
Bringing transport under public control
He said that Sheffield Heeley MP and Transport Minister Louise Haigh has been very helpful to the mayoral authority. He said that her plans to bring rail services back under public control are an exciting development that would be a huge boost to the vision of integrated public transport for South Yorkshire.
Franchising will also potentially attract more people back to buses, said Swales.
“In the end the more people that use public transport, the more sustainable the system is and the better it is for the environment. It’s also about ensuring that there is a sufficient service.
“If you go back to 2007, around 43 million miles in a year were covered in South Yorkshire-wide bus services. Right now that’s around half that figure.”
He said that communities across South Yorkshire have been hit hard by cuts to services since Covid.
“The overwhelming challenge and expectation to the mayor and the mayoral combined authority is to do something about improving buses.”
Swales pointed to the £100mn investment in tram services since Supertram was taken over, with new vehicles and upgrades to the network. He said that the mayor is trying to secure another £500mn to deliver “ambitious plans for the future”.
Take part in the consultation
He urged people to take part in the consultation, saying: “We would ask your readers to go to our website and engage in this process. There’s a shorter survey and a longer survey and a detailed document that contains all the technical information.
“Whether you simply want to participate by having a brief say or getting far more detailed, we would love to hear from you.
“We will also have people out and about in all the four local authority areas of Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley talking to people face to face about their thoughts and their views.
“All of that will feed into the mayor’s decision in March about the way to proceed.”
You can access the full consultation document or summary of it and respond by using the long or short survey at http://www.southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk/bus-reform. The website also details drop-in events taking place around the region and venues where all the documents are available.
