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£50m on new buses if services brought back under public control
BUS services in Sheffield and Rotherham could be brought back under public control - with regulated routes and fares - as early as 2013, The Star can reveal.
And if the change goes ahead, 50 million would be invested in an entirely new fleet of the latest low-floor environmentally-friendly vehicles.
South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is currently carrying out consultation, launched last month, on whether to make the change in Doncaster.
If it went ahead, SYPTE would set routes and fares, then find a private operator to run the buses under a 'quality contract' franchise
agreement.
The new deal would mean:
- A new fleet of modern buses
- Simpler ticket arrangements, including zonal tickets covering journeys involving more than one bus
- A limit of one change per year on timetables and routes
- Public consultation on major service changes
- CCTV on all buses
David Young, director of customer experience at SYPTE, said: "A decision about Doncaster will be made in the spring, and we have been asked to look at Sheffield next."
South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority - councillors who oversee SYPTE's policy - are unlikely to launch the project in Sheffield until after the May council elections, as their membership may change.
The earliest that consultation could be launched in Sheffield is the summer.
Mr Young estimates the process could take six months, during which passengers would be asked for their views.
And operators would be questioned on how they would improve existing services as an alternative.
The Integrated Transport Authority would then make a decision on whether to go ahead with bringing in contracts for Sheffield.
Implementation would take at least a further two years, while operators are chosen, depots built, and buses ordered, Mr Young said.
Services could begin operating to new quality contracts as early as 2013.
Mr Young said: "South Rotherham would be in the same contract as Sheffield because they share services. Sheffield would be under one or several contracts depending upon how many depots are provided."
The PTE would look to run services from new depots rather than use existing First and Stagecoach sites at Olive Grove and Ecclesfield, to remove the companies' "competitive advantage" when tendering for contracts.
Mr Young added: "When the contracts are awarded, orders will also be put in for new buses, all of which will be low floor and have the latest environmental standards." It has not yet been decided whether the PTE would buy the fleets and lease vehicles to operators, or whether the buses would be paid for by operating companies.
A total of 450 buses would be needed in Sheffield and Rotherham, costing 120,000 for a single-decker and 160,000 per double decker bus - meaning at least 50 million of new investment.
Mr Young said the work in South Yorkshire will proceed regardless of whether the Conservatives - who said they will scrap quality contracts and restore the current open market - win the general election.
He said: "If they do, who knows whether they will change the legislation in the first year, fifth year or not at all. Labour was opposed to the private rail franchise system in the 1990s but never changed it when they took power."
The PTE is also prepared for operators finding grounds to appeal locally against decisions to create quality contracts, which could delay their implementation.
Operators such as Stagecoach have also talked of trying to stop quality contracts by mounting a legal challenge to the Transport Act, the law which makes them possible.
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Weather for Sheffield
Tuesday 22 May 2012
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