Bus cuts Sheffield: Yorkshire bishops join call for more government funding

The open letter, organised by the local campaign Better Buses for South Yorkshire, called on the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Transport Secretary to extend bus funding currently due to end in March.

Bishops from Yorkshire, Devon, and Staffordshire were joined by the president of the Methodist Church, the chief executive of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, the general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention and others.

Reports from bus operators suggest nearly one in six services could be axed if the Bus Recovery Grant, set up to keep services running after Covid reduced passenger numbers, is removed next month

The news follows a Freedom of Information request from the passenger group to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, which they say showed that passengers have made 7.47 billion fewer journeys in total on the region’s buses since the network’s deregulation in 1986.

The figures show that 340 million journeys were made in 1986. Passenger numbers had fallen by over a fifth just a year later and had halved less than a decade on. By 2021/22, the total was 54 million.

Job losses

The campaigners, who want buses brought back into public control, argue that the figures can show the journeys have been lost to privatisation, as areas with public ownership of buses such as London and Northern Ireland have tended to maintain or grow their bus networks.

The open letter highlights that any further cuts will come on top of significant reductions last year as “one service in 10 was cut in 2022” and could “devastate communities.”

It goes on to say: “Workers will lose their jobs. Our children and young people will be cut off from educational and training opportunities. All of us will be further isolated from essential public services, including our overstretched GP surgeries, dental practices and hospitals.”

Matthew Topham from the campaign said: “Buses are an essential public service. They are the glue that holds together our local economies, our public services, and our communities. These cuts would be excruciating.

“Ending bus privatisation has been estimated to save over £600m a year across Great Britain, more than enough to stop these cuts. It’s time buses worked for people, not profit.

“This strengthens the case more than ever for the mayor and local council leaders to take our buses into public control. In the meantime, government must extended this funding.”

Transport ‘vital’

Rt Rev Sophie Jelley, Bishop of Doncaster, said: “Public transport is vital to so many. It is clear that those who face the greatest adversity already are likely to be among those most dependent on buses for their access to wider services, amenities and resources.

“In an increasingly mobile society, we risk isolating the poorest and most disadvantaged even further, if our bus service is not sufficient to support them.”

The Rt Rev Dr John B Thomson, Bishop of Selby, said: “Buses with affordable fares help to reduce emissions, congestion and isolation. That’s why buses are a social good and part of the way to a better future. Don’t cut buses. Cut fares!”

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