South Yorkshire Mayor says transport “should be a right not a privilege” ahead of summit

The Transport Summit will be held at Doncaster’s National College for Advanced Training and Infrastructure with the mayor speaking alongside local experts and innvators.

Following bus and tram routes being cut and train cancellations and delays, the mayor will set out a vision to fix public transport for South Yorkshire.

It comes after analysis revealing that the region needs £1 billion more to spend on its transport to give it the same funding per person as London had last year.

He will also give more details on plans to launch an independent inquiry into the closure of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Mayor Oliver Coppard’s speech will read:

“My vision is for public transport as a public service, the clue is in the title; trains, buses, bike lanes that create and sustain our communities rather than being at the mercy of officials in London or shareholders in Dubai.

“A baby being born today in Doncaster should grow up breathing clean air. By 2030, when she turns seven, we want her to be able to walk or cycle safely to school with her friends; jump on a cheap, reliable bus to see her grandparents or play football at the weekends.

“By 2030, a child in Rotherham who is ten years old today will be at a crossroads in their life…their life chances should not be limited by limited, unreliable and expensive transport options. They should not be forced to buy and run a car they can barely afford, and which our planet cannot afford either.

“Getting there won’t be cheap, and it won’t be easy. We’ll do everything we can with the tools we already have in South Yorkshire. But if we want to meet the government’s own ambition of a ‘London style public transport system’ by 2030 then we will need the same level of power, money and control over our public transport network as they already have down there.”

He will set out a series of ambitions for the region including:

Fully-devolved, needs-based funding for South Yorkshire.

Launching an inquiry to ensure that what happened to Doncaster Sheffield Airport cannot happen again.

Stepping in to train a new generation of bus drivers.

Using budget reserves to protect school bus services.

An electrified railway linking Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley Dearne Valley to Leeds and further.

Tram extensions in Sheffield using the technology of Tram-Train.

Bringing the tram network into public control and public ownership.

Accelerating the bus franchising assessment process.

The mayor continues:

“Behind these policies sits a new guiding philosophy: public transport as a public service, the clue is in the title; trains, buses, bike lanes that create and sustain our communities rather than being at the mercy of officials in London.”

“An affordable, reliable public transport network should be a right not a privilege across our country.”

The summit will also see talks from the region’s new Active Travel Commissioner Ed Clancy and leading behavioural scientist Pete Dyson, among others.