Editor: Jump on board for a new  journey into city’s future

And if you were to look at our letters pages for an average week you would find more correspondence about buses, trains and trams than any other subject.

There's nothing more frustrating than waiting for a bus that doesn't turn up or standing on a platform wondering how long it will be before the delayed train from wherever arrives.

We all have our views of how public transport should be run – especially if we turn back the clock to how it used to be.

As you well know, Sheffield' s bus service was once the envy of our nation. A cheap, reliable service for the whole city.

I asked my teenage daughter what she thought of our city’s buses today. Unreliable and infrequent was the answer.

Covid, industrial action and driver shortages have all had their parts to play over the past few months.

Long before the pandemic, South Yorkshire’s public transport had gone downhill fast. And the events of the past two years have taken even more of a toll.

During the height of Covid, understandably people stayed away from the buses, trams and trains. The idea of being in a confined space with anyone outside our household did not seem like a good idea. But now, as the restrictions go, what are we left with – and what would we like to see?

Yesterday’s protest outside Dan Jarvis’s office was not just about public transport. It was jointly organised by Better Buses for South Yorkshire and South Yorkshire Climate Alliance. It was calling on the mayor and local authority leaders to bring buses back under public control but also to take action on climate change.

The state of Sheffield’s public transport is not just about making sure people get a decent service, it’s also about ensuring there’s an alternative to clogging up the roads with traffic – whether that be petrol and diesel or electric.

Surely the years ahead hold a big opportunity, not just to travel back in time to the 1960s or 70s, but to plot a new journey – possibly back in public control – and make sure we are ready for what the future holds.