Sheffield bus cuts: Councillors demand action to halt service losses that will ‘devastate’ city

Two motions have been submitted to the meeting, criticising planned cuts to a third of services that begin at the end of this month.

The first motion, from LibDem councillors Andrew Sangar (Fulwood) and Kurtis Crossland (Beighton) calls for no more service cuts or fare increases.

It is “hugely disappointed at the cancellation of a number of bus services in Sheffield coming at the end of this month” and believes that “the further cuts to come in the autumn will devastate Sheffield’s public transport system, making many people’s lives much harder as they will struggle to get around our city.”

The motion believes that the Sheffield Bus Partnership, which brought together local bus companies with the council and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, has “failed the citizens of Sheffield” by not improving services and keeping fares low.

It blames the partnership for cuts to services and “extortionate fare increases”, forcing people to use their car as a cheaper and more accessible option.

This will also add to air pollution in the city centre.

The motion also says that a lack of public confidence in the reliability of the bus service is contributing to decreasing passenger numbers.

Pointing to how London, which was not subject to bus deregulation in 1986, has seen “decade upon decade increases in bus patronage and mileage”, the motion says that South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority has the power to enact bus franchising.

It believes this will be a long-term solution to problems, “allowing bus operators and local authorities to work collaboratively to improve bus services and realise untapped growth potentials in regional and rural areas”.

The motion calls on the council and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to terminate the Bus Partnership Agreement and review bus priority measures and support the introduction of a statutory bus quality contract in Sheffield.

Bus franchising, which is backed by new South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, would bring the regulation of routes, frequencies, fares and tickets under local control by himself and the region’s councils.

The campaign Better Buses for South Yorkshire has also been urging the move towards franchising as a first step to bring bus services back fully into public hands.

Bus cuts blamed on Government on failing to deliver on promises

The second motion has been submitted by Labour councillors Mazher Iqbal (Darnall) and Abdul Khayum (Firth Park).

The motion “notes, with shock and anger, that Sheffield’s bus networks are beginning to be slashed this month, culminating in a third of services being decimated by October as the Government cuts funding and commercial operators withdraw”.

It blames the Government on failing to deliver on promises made in the Levelling Up White Paper to deliver a public transport system as good as in London.

The motion notes that South Yorkshire was given nothing in the latest round of bus funding from the Government and believes it is “simply not good enough to continue to underfund our buses and limit people’s opportunities to get to work, education, health services and for business growth, as well as failing to help us to tackle the climate emergency.”

Local bus partnership ‘no longer fit for purpose’

It states that Labour councillors have long called for bus franchising to be explored. It says they enacted the local bus partnership “as this was the only option available to the council at the time to help provide greater local control, but believes that this partnership, whilst helpful at the time, is no longer fit for purpose”.

Pointing out that the poor state of local transport was a main issue on the doorstep for voters during the recent council and mayoral elections, it calls for “the need to work cross-party to demand to the Government that SouthYorkshire gets significantly improved funding and greater local control over the bus network”.

It commends the actions of Oliver Coppard for his commitment to save as many services as possible.

The motion links the buses issue to “a general sense within the country of a Government failing to get to grips with the major issues that affect neighbourhoods – crime, connectivity, lack of opportunities and the cost-of-living crisis”.

It “notes with dismay the recent violent crime and serious incidents in the city and that, whilst the levers to fully address this reside with the Government, the Council must be steadfast in its prioritisation of community safety and doing everything we can locally”.

Welcoming community safety measures such as community wardens, increased CCTV cameras and expanded youth services, it calls for a city-wide protocol on community safety to be set up in the next three months.

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