Mayor restates case for bus franchising in Barnsley speech
South Yorkshire’s mayor has restated his case for bringing buses back under public control, saying clearer accountability is needed when public services fail.
Speaking at Barnsley Civic yesterday (Jan 13), Oliver Coppard said residents were frustrated by systems where responsibility was unclear and decisions were often made by organisations based outside the region.
He said people were frequently left “not knowing where to turn” when services did not work as expected, pointing to issues such as missed buses and delays in getting responses from large organisations.
Mr Coppard said bringing buses back under public control would not automatically fix every problem, but would make it clearer who was responsible when things went wrong.
The first franchised bus services are expected to begin operating in South Yorkshire in September 2027, replacing the current deregulated system.
The mayor said public control would also affect how investment decisions are made, encouraging longer-term planning rather than short-term, profit-driven models.
He also highlighted planned investment in public transport, including more than £600m for improvements to the Supertram network and £150m for bus services.
The speech formed part of a wider address on devolution and accountability, with Mr Coppard arguing that bringing decision-making closer to communities could help rebuild trust in public services.