‘First and Stagecoach need to stop blaming everyone else and take some responsility’ - Sheffield MP Louise Haigh on bus crisis

Ms Haigh, who is also shadow Secretary of State for Transport, did concede that central government decisions on public transport funding in recent times had ‘pushed people back into their cars’.

But the Sheffield Heeley MP also said that operators needed to stop pointing the finger at other people and to take some responsibility which Ms Haigh called the ‘managed decline’ of bus services in South Yorkshire.

Ms Haigh was reacting to letters sent to South Yorkshire Mayor Dan Jarvis by the top bosses of First and Stagecoach in response to his criticism of services in the area.

Bus bosses at both firms cited Covid-19 pressures and the end to government support during the pandemic.

Ms Haigh called for South Yorkshire to eventually move to a franchise system where people in the region had ownership of the bus network.

The Heeley MP also poured water on the ‘enhanced partnership’ plans being worked through with SYCMA and operators at present and said they ‘didn’t work’.

Ms Haigh said: “We’re seeing a managed decline of our bus network in Sheffield and South Yorkshire – we’re seeing fares go up by massive amounts that are higher than inflation and the services are gradually being scaled back.

“This means that people can’t rely on them, they’re not accessible and they’re not affordable.

“It’s all well and good for First and Stagecoach saying it’s everyone else’s fault bar their own, the government has undeniably made decisions that are pushing people off public transport and have cut funding for local transport authorities.

“But they need to take responsibility as well and whacking up fares well beyond inflation and what people can currently afford is only going to make the services less profitable in the long run.

“We need to see responsibility in the short term but ultimately move to a system of franchising so the public have proper control and ownership over the network.”

“I’ve not seen an example anywhere in the country where an Enhanced Partnership actually works in practice for passengers.

“Ultimately, this is what’s important that passengers have to be at the heart of the system.

“If we’re going to be serious about tackling the climate crisis, we need to see people out of their cars and on public transport.

“Every decision the government has made in recent months has pushed people back into their cars.”