Buses Sheffield: Campaigners take demands for better bus service in South Yorkshire to London

The Better Buses for South Yorkshire campaign was front and centre outside the Department for Transport building as members of Sheffield Greenpeace, Sheffield XR and other

regional climate groups gathered.

This comes as activists from across the country flock to London today for ‘The Big One’, a four-day action organised by Extinction Rebellion with the aim of bringing activists together in London to picket government departments and protest outside parliament.

Geoff Cox, chair of South Yorkshire Climate Alliance (SYCA), an umbrella group that co-ordinates other South Yorkshire climate groups, said: “Oliver Coppard is the man who’s got to make things happen, but his hands are tied to a certain extent by the Department for Transport, in terms of what powers he has, what funding he has.

“So we lobby Oliver, because he’s got to do things, but we’re sympathetic to Oliver’s position.”

Although transport is something that is a regional responsibility, hence his mention of Mr Coppard, Mr Cox stressed the national situation, hence SYCA’s stand outside the

Department for Transport.

The Better Buses for South Yorkshire Campaign aims to address the declining bus system in Sheffield, which is key for the environment but also key for residents’ lives.

Joan Miller, who is active in SYCA, said: “Our buses aren’t good enough. They aren’t reliable, they aren’t cheap enough, they don’t go to enough places to enable people to go to work and college and so on.

“The transformation of public transport is a key thing for lowering the CO2 in transport. You can’t just say ‘get out of your car’ when there’s nothing else to get into. The keystone action is that (we get) reliable, cheap, publicly owned buses that go to the places people need and turn up on time.”

The scenes outside the Department for Transport offices were energetic, with a good deal of chanting, directing at the man suspected to be inside, Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper. Chants included “we’re from South Yorkshire, and we need better buses!” and “what do we want – better buses, when do we need it – now!”

The man leading the chanting was Richard Teasdale, a local group coordinator for Sheffield Greenpeace. He said: “Like many causes, it’s a bit of an intersection. It’s good for people, and it’s good for the planet – it’s a real win-win.”

Sheffield activists will remain in London in the next couple of days as the national protests continue.