Back Our Buses: Why are Sheffield’s buses so bad? We took the bus with Mayor Oliver Coppard to find out

Following on from the launch of The Star’s 'Back Our Buses' campaign, supported by South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, it seemed only right that I step onboard one of the city’s services with the mayor himself.

Over the past weeks, months, and years, we have spoken to countless members of the public who are tired of inefficient bus services in Sheffield and South Yorkshire. We have also reported on dozens of protests by bus campaigners eager for change, which have been more often than not backed by politicians. But then why are our bus services getting worse?

To find out more, I arranged to meet Mr Coppard at the Sheffield Interchange. I had only been to the interchange once before after having to book a coach during a round of rail strikes. On that day, there were unsurprisingly dozens of us waiting around, but as I met Mr Coppard on a wet Tuesday morning, we were two of few people at the city’s bus station.

Mr Coppard told me how the interchange used to be packed - but buses are no longer the first choice of transport for the majority of the public since South Yorkshire lost its 'world class bus network'.

"What we have are infrequent and unreliable buses - they are not good enough," Mr Coppard said. "Right now, we’ve got this issue where as the buses get worse, fewer people use them; and as less people use them, they get worse.

"I’ve held 28 meetings across South Yorkshire that have been attended by hundreds of people, the majority of whom are angry. It is a lifeline for all too many communities.

"South Yorkshire is not getting that funding it vitally needs, and that is simply not OK."

In the Government’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) and subsequent funding allocations, per person, South Yorkshire has been given the equivalent of £10 in funding. But just across the border, West Yorkshire was given £40.

This lack of funding - revenue funding in particular - has wreaked havoc on our bus services. Latest figures from Friends of the Earth, an environmental campaigning community, reported Sheffield has had a 59.2 per cent decline in the frequency of bus services since 2010.

With bus services in South Yorkshire run by private firms, it makes sense for them to focus on the most profitable routes, but this has had a dire effect for many residents in the city, with dozens of services cut.

As Mr Coppard and I boarded the £1 Sheffield Connect bus for a spin around the city centre, I found myself asking about the proposals to franchise the service in South Yorkshire, which are still being worked through.

He explained that, if approved, this would give the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) the powers to make decisions on fares, routes, and standards of the buses, all of which is currently decided by private bus operators, such as First and Stagecoach.

Currently SYMCA is only able to create new bus services by proposing it to bus operators with a fixed price to cover running costs - this is called a tendered bus service. But this can only happen with revenue funding.

Mr Coppard: "If and when we get franchised it will take time to get back to the system we used to have. South Yorkshire has been neglected for all too long. I understand the Government has difficult financial decisions to make, but they need to deliver on their promise for significant funding to make it work.

"In November 2022, I introduced the £2 fare cap two months before the Government did and that was a significant achievement. It showed the mentality of: we will do what we can where we have the power, control and money. What we need from the government is the help to do those other things.

"Fighting for funding for South Yorkshire, and improving the public transport network, that is what I am here to do, and that’s what I will keep on doing."

To improve collaboration in South Yorkshire, Mr Coppard has set up the Enhanced Partnership Board, which includes transport operators, local government, and residents to work through service improvements.

The group has committed to a number of accountability measures so far, including:

• Significant service changes will take place no more than twice per year. Information about changes will be available online at least one month prior to the changes taking effect 
• Fare increases will be limited to once per year
• If the last bus of the day to a destination is cancelled, operators will offer a refund of the taxi fare to passengers if they need to take a taxi instead
• New buses will be fully accessible, and fitted with audio-visual stop announcements

But for bus users in Sheffield and the rest of South Yorkshire, it will likely not be until the authority receives funding to make improvements to routes, connectivity, punctuality and affordability that their trust is reinstated.

Ironically, our trip on the Sheffield Connect was very smooth going, punctual, and cost just £1 - but we know this is far from the normal for the majority of bus services. 

In a previous statement, the DfT said: “South Yorkshire has been allocated more than half a billion pounds over five years to improve local transport, with almost one and a half billion pounds to follow from 2027, including an extra £543m from reallocated HS2 funding. Reallocated HS2 funding has also already provided an extra £7.8m for South Yorkshire specifically to improve bus services, with more to come as part of a long-term plan to improve bus services across the North and Midlands.

“This comes on top of the Government’s £300m package to protect bus routes into 2025, and nearly £600m spent to single cap bus fares at £2 until the end of 2024."

SYMCA responded that all but £7.8m of this amount is capital funding, which has been received for projects such as investments in bus lanes and junction improvements. It has reiterated that without revenue funding in line with other regions, it would not be able to fund the improvements to ongoing services and routes that South Yorkshire needs.

Do you have a story about Sheffield buses? Please share your story if you are 18 or over, anonymously if you wish. Email: [email protected] with your name, phone number and a summary of your experience.