Three Green Party councillors abstain from vote on free travel for Sheffield children - and reveal why
The cost of the council pilot is estimated at £7.6m, £2 million of which will come from SYMCA and the rest from council reserves
Three Green Party councillors abstained from voting on plans for free bus travel for under 18s.
The 29-week pilot providing free bus and tram travel for young people in Sheffield was approved at a Strategy and Resources Policy Committee meeting this week.
However, Councillors Douglas Johnson, Brian Holmshaw and Peter Gilbert, of the Green Party, abstained from voting while the rest of the committee approved the plans.
Other Green Party members - Coun Alexi Dimond and Coun Angela Argenzio - voted to approve the scheme.
It will run from February half-term to September 5, 2027, providing free fares for 5-18 year olds from the beginning of the school day until 9pm.
The September end date is intended to align with a South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) scheme planned to provide free travel provision to young people.
The council estimates that the pilot will cost £7.6m, which will come from reserves. Another £2 million will come from SYMCA to cover admin costs.
Coun Douglas Johnson said there was a "scarcity" of information in the report, and asked why the council couldn't extend the scheme to under 22s if it would already be dipping into reserves.
He said: “This is about something potentially transformative for the way the future generation uses buses, that's why we want to see it succeed."
Steve Kay, director of belonging at the council, confirmed that 22-year-olds were not consulted as part of this scheme.
Coun Johnson also questioned the modelling of the project on a scheme in Barnsley, expressing concerns about the learnings from a town that is "very different to Sheffield".
Kate Josephs, chief executive of Sheffield City Council clarified that as a pilot scheme, the data is “really strong and probably far in excess of what we would have, because of the work that Barnsley has done.”
According to Barnsley Council, young people's travel in Barnsley rose by 63 per cent on the previous period since the launch of the MiCard free travel scheme.
Coun Brian Holmshaw mentioned the 9pm curfew and how that could impact young people returning from sports and entertainment across the city.
Coun Alexi Dimond questioned the financial implication on council reserves if there was a 100 per cent uptake as opposed to the estimated 60 per cent.
“Is this the best intervention you can do with that money to support people to use buses and trams?" Coun Dimond asked.
“The reason we're interrogating the report is because we all want this to be a success”
Coun Ben Miskell said he was “disappointed by the negativity” in the council chamber.
“We know that in Barnsley it's reduced congestion, it's given young people greater access to opportunity, training, apprenticeships. It's given people access to independence and the confidence that we want our young people to have,” he said.
Coun Miskell also asked council officers to clarify the £2 million contribution from SYMCA would be withdrawn if the pilot wasn't undertaken, which Mr Hoy confirmed.
Coun Dianne Hurst said: “If you don't use buses you lose them," she said. "If we’re educating customers young, that would be good."