South Yorkshire campaigners target Number 10 North in fight for better bus services
They delivered a letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s office
Campaigners from South Yorkshire joined allies in West Yorkshire and Derbyshire to call on the Prime Minister to bring buses back under public control.
On Monday, October 26, the Better Buses group headed to Number 10 North in Manchester to deliver a letter calling on public ownership of buses - which was signed by 23 campaign groups - to Andy Burnham’s office.
.jpeg?trim=0,0,0,0&crop=&width=640&quality=65)
That day marked the 40th anniversary of the start of bus deregulation, which was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government.
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard is set to take control of the region’s bus network in 2027, however the campaign group argue that total public control is required to fix services.
Fran Postlethwaite, convenor of Better Buses South Yorkshire, said, “Thatcher’s bus privatisation in 1986 has been a disaster for passengers and communities here in South Yorkshire and across the country.
“Millions of bus routes have been lost, fares have risen above inflation and we have been left with unreliable, fragmented services. We welcome the introduction of public control by South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard as a step towards ending the chaos caused by the private bus companies’ drive for profit.
“But under franchising profits will still be used to benefit shareholders rather than pay for improved services. We want to see a return to full municipal ownership. Our letter calls on Andy Burnham to completely remove the effects of Thatcher’s privatisation legislation.”