Cost of bus franchising for Sheffield taxpayers must be clear, says council leader

South Yorkshire Mayor Dan Jarvis and the county’s four council leaders will meet to decide if they want to pursue bringing buses back into public control.

The mayor and the leaders will sit down at a special meeting in March to discuss the possibility of starting up a South Yorkshire bus franchise.

While Sheffield Council Leader Terry Fox has welcomed the idea, he is concerned that taxpayers need to know exactly the cost of the bill.

He said: “We have consistently, and repeatedly, called for the Mayor to start the process of bus franchising so we welcome the announcement that Dan Jarvis will consider franchising in further detail.

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“Franchising would give the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority the powers to set routes, timetables and fares but all of the associated costs and risks of delivery would also rest with SYMCA.

“Therefore, the financial implications must be clarified as to what impact this will have on the council’s finances and on the city’s taxpayers.”

What’s the cost and timescale?

Coun Fox wants an assessment to consider the legal, financial, and operational case for moving away from a commercial bus network to franchising.

He added: “SYMCA has estimated that developing an assessment could cost around £4-5 million and take three to four years to complete.

“This decision should not be taken lightly due to the cost but ultimately, Sheffield’s transport offer is simply not good enough and radical action is required to get the service to where it should be.

“Franchising is no panacea to the problem of poor public transport, with sustained government underfunding and privatisation the root problem, but it may provide a crucial step in the right direction of reform.”

The SYMCA is moving ahead with an Enhanced Partnership, which allows local leaders to work with operators to improve ticketing, routes, and frequency of services across the region.

But critics say the model still hands too much power to the operators who make the final say on routes and timetable changes.