OPINION: Electric buses are welcome - but not the main prize for long suffering passengers
There was a lot to celebrate when the transport secretary visited Sheffield to announce 186 electric buses for the region.
Winning the attention of government and landing huge amounts of taxpayers’ cash are very welcome after so many years of neglect from the previous lot.
But you could forgive passengers for only managing two cheers.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander and South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard were at Olive Grove depot yesterday, Thursday, March 12, promising a better experience for bus users, cleaner air for all and big strides towards meeting climate commitments.
But what travellers want above all is more buses - and for that they will have to wait.
Unfortunately, it is something they are well accustomed to.
It is four decades since Sheffield’s famously cheap and universally loved bus services were replaced by the private sector under deregulation - and they have never recovered.
Things got so bad that in recent times the idea of franchising has taken off.
It offers public control of routes and timetables and has been sold as a step towards what we used to have, we are told, including more buses on the roads and the reopening of routes deemed unprofitable by commercial firms.
Bike lanes are being built seemingly everywhere and the council says the number of riders increased 28 per cent in the five years from 2019 to 2024.
But a huge majority of people will never take to two wheels, even if an electric bike hire scheme is introduced, as planned.
Earlier this year Sheffield City Council announced an ambition to have a fifth fewer cars on the road by 2040. A no one doubts that will happen.
But it is seven years since Sheffield MP Clive Betts was appointed to conduct surveys to lay the groundwork for franchising. And it is still not due to start until September next year.
So, the dwindling number of passengers will have to wait another 18 months for the next golden age of buses to come along. At least they are used to it.