South Yorkshire passengers to protest poor bus services in Sheffield

They are calling for South Yorkshire services to be brought into public control which would give South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) the power to improve standards.

It will take place from 1pm outside SYMCA office on Broad Street where a meeting will be taking place between local politicians and bus companies.

Campaigners will hold placards and sing an adaptation of the Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs song ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’, singing “someday my bus will come”.

Matthew Topham, campaigner at Better Buses for South Yorkshire, said taking buses into public control will give the authority power to issue fines for bad services, rewards for improvements and timetables that prioritise punctuality instead of profits.

He said: “Reliability is a top issue across our region. If the bus doesn’t turn up on time or at all, passengers are left scrambling to get themselves to work, school or just to see family and friends.

“We know areas with greater local control of services like Blackpool are some of the most consistently reliable services in the country. We deserve the same here.”

Unions said it could also improve working conditions and wages, and therefore less driver shortages.

SYMCA is currently considering whether a bus franchising scheme in the county would improve transport.

In Reading, the Borough Council owns local buses and saw an almost 40 per cent increase over six years before Covid-19 and now has the highest bus use in England outside London, according to the Department for Transport.