Talks held over South Yorkshire's "in crisis" bus services

On October 19, bus users met with councillors in an online public meeting to call for action on South Yorkshire’s private bus network, which the Trade Union Congress (TUC) say is "failing".

The TUC's research, based on figures from Department of Transport Data shows net public funding for buses in South Yorkshire has fallen by £1.6m in the last 20 years.

South Yorkshire bus services have seen 24.5 million fewer passenger journeys since 2009, and 11.3 million fewer elderly and concessionary passenger journeys since 2009, says the TUC.

Councillor Robert Johnson, and Councillor Chris Lamb, transport portfolio holders for Sheffield and Barnsley respectively, attended the meeting.

Gareth Lewis, TUC spokesman said: “Our bus system is in crisis. Buses in Yorkshire should be run to serve our community, not for the benefit of private operators. But right now we face a funding cliff edge, with hundreds of services at risk.

“Over 200 local residents have expressed their deep concerns to council leaders about the future of their bus services. We hope they hear this message loud and clear.

“The Better Buses for Yorkshire campaign is ready to work with councils to change the privatised system that is failing working people.

“Right now, public money goes straight from government to private operators, with local councils having little say over routes, timetables, or services. We need that money to come directly to councils, so decisions about bus services can be made closer to those it affects.

“The government needs to fully fund services, including infrequent and socially necessary routes. We cannot let the poorest pay the price for a failing system.

“Public control is the best way to ensure that decisions about bus services are made by local people, for local people”

Councillor Chris Lamb, Barnsley Council’s cabinet spokesman for place said: “Barnsley shares a desire to improve bus services across South Yorkshire and will continue to work with stakeholders and the Mayor to ensure the best outcome for local people and businesses.

"Regardless of who is responsible for running bus services in South Yorkshire, significant additional investment is required to ensure that they are sustainable and fully meet the needs of people both locally and regionally.”

Nigel Eggleton, managing director at First South Yorkshire, said: "We are a long established business that has for many years run a comprehensive network of bus services in Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster, serving local communities with links to workplaces, leisure facilities, medical centres and places of interest.

"Through strong partnerships with the PTE and key stakeholders and major investment by the bus operators, most of the routes established within the city and local towns , have high frequency services that are sustainable and meet the demands of people choosing to use the bus as their preferred method of travel”.

“We constantly strive to deliver a reliable service for our customers, offer a range of travel ticket options, have invested a great deal in technology to improve air quality in the city by fitting retro kits to older buses that emit less harmful emissions into the environment.

“Whilst we welcome the support being provided by central government to help keep services operational through this unprecedented time, I believe that bus services are better managed by the private sector, especially under the present circumstance with limited funding and resource available through our local authorities.”

A spokesman for Stagecoach Yorkshire said: “Bus services have continued to play a crucial role in keeping communities connected through the pandemic, enabling people to travel to work, education and for shopping and other essential reasons. Stagecoach bus services in South Yorkshire are now running at over 90 per cent of pre-Covid levels to ensure there is vital capacity to keep networks moving.

“Local public sector investment in bus services has close to halved over the past 20years, yet in spite of this, the strong bus partnership working in South Yorkshire has delivered some of the lowest bus fares of any metropolitan region in the UK.

“Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental health risks we face today. However, there has been a lack of urgency and focus by government to address growing car use, which is responsible for most of the pollution in our city centres, and is damaging the sustainability of bus networks, slowing journey times and pushing up fares.

“We now need to drive forward a partnership with national and local government to tackle the major issues such as congestion which will help to deliver faster and more reliable journeys.”

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