South Yorkshire buses return to public control

Applause rang out in the chamber as Mayor Oliver Coppard confirmed this morning that bus franchising will be implemented, starting in 2027.

In a landmark decision, Mayor Coppard announced the decision at a well-attended South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority board meeting.

The decision follows an overwhelming response to one of the biggest bus franchising consultations undertaken, with more than 7,800 people having their say – and 87% reported that they either strongly support or support in part the introduction of bus franchising.

Under bus franchising, SYMCA will take control of the bus network including depots, bus fleets, routes, timetables, service standards, tickets and fares. Publicly controlled buses will start to roll out in South Yorkshire from September 2027.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “Today, we’ve made history; turning back the tide on the failed experiment of the privatisation of our bus network that was started in the 1980s, putting the public back into public transport. When I was elected as South Yorkshire’s Mayor in 2022, I promised to take back control of our buses. Today I’m proud to say that is a promise being kept.”

He continued: “Over the last forty years we’ve seen public transport taken apart; fares go up, routes and passenger numbers go down, and our city centres, our high streets and our economy flatline.

“I want us to build a bigger and better economy in South Yorkshire and we need a public transport system that allows people to get to where they want to go, when they want to go there.”

The action on buses echoes that taken in West Yorkshire a year ago, and also follows South Yorkshire’s taking the Supertram back into public control, a call made at the same time.

The SYMCA board supported the bus decision unanimously, with Barnsley Leader Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton dryly noting that “the people of Barnsley never wanted privatisation in the first pale, and they’ve ben proven right”.

Doncaster’s Mayor Ros Jones said: “The issues are still out there on service reliability, frequency, lack of direct services, so I’m delighted the public want to see franchising.”

Sheffield Council Leader Cllr Tom Hunt added: “For too long people have had to put up with substandard services. This gives us the opportunity to do as would be expected in any European city, and properly integrate our bus and tram networks in a way we’ve not been able to do to date.”