Sheffield bus cuts: Fewer night buses and reaction from politicians, Stagecoach and Government

South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard said the region’s services would be slashed by a third next month, with one Sheffield route ditched altogether.

Sheffield Heeley MP and shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said cuts to funding put in place to deal with the effect of the pandemic on transport means there will be only four buses running across South Yorkshire after 10pm from October and urged ministers to provide funding for bus services.

She told the House of Commons today: “Buses are a lifeline for so many people and during the pandemic they were there to support key workers and get them to our hospitals and supermarkets.

“The Government provided funding at that point, and it meant that much needed services could continue to run.

“The industry is now facing a cliff edge and if further funding is not provided then we could see many services disappear for good.”

Sheffield Council leader Coun Terry Fox, said: “Public transport is essential for people to get around our city, and it is disgraceful to see our transport system facing yet more cuts to services which will impact on everyone from the elderly who see buses as a lifeline for getting out of the house, to young people who depend on buses to get to school and college every day.

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“Sheffield is England’s fourth-largest city, and we deserve a public transport system that meets the needs of people living and working across our region and ensures that they can get to where they need to go. It is simply not good enough for government to continue to under-fund our buses and limit people’s opportunities to work, education and business growth as well as helping us to tackle the environmental challenges.

“It is clear that we need to see investment in our public transport system now to unlock our potential and make levelling up a reality.”

Greens recently called on the Government to spend as much per head on transport in Yorkshire (£276 a year) as they do in London (£903 a year) if they were serious about levelling up.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach Yorkshire said they were working with South Yorkshire Combined Authority to develop a sustainable bus network reflecting new travel patterns coming out of the pandemic, and current levels of passenger demand. None of the routes listed as withdrawn from July 24 are currently operated by Stagecoach.

They added: “We remain absolutely committed to working with our local authority partners to deliver the best networks we can for local communities.”

Bill Adams, TUC Regional Secretary for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “Low paid workers rely on buses to get them to their jobs.

“If private operators won’t run our bus services, then the mayor has to be allowed to run them as a public service.”

A Department for Transport Spokesperson said: “We have committed to investing £3bn into bus services by 2025, to improve fares, services and infrastructure, and given nearly £2bn since March 2020 to bus operators and local authorities to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.”

“South Yorkshire has been allocated £570m over the next five years as part of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements to fund local transport within the area, including buses.”

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