Franchising of bus services in South Yorkshire has been recommended as the preferred path for reform by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA).
That position is contained within a franchising assessment. The document has been withheld from public release by SYMCA, as had the proposed franchising scheme, but broad outcomes of the assessment are detailed in a summary paper published online.
It notes that four potential options for franchising were considered alongside enhanced partnership (which is already in place) and ‘enhanced partnership plus’.
Completion of the assessment follows the issue in 2022 of a notice of intention to carry out that task. At an SYMCA board meeting on 12 March, members will be asked to approve the next stage of the move towards eventual reregulation, which is an independent audit of the proposed franchising scheme.
SYMCA says that the region’s bus market has “experienced a continuous cycle of decline while growing its reliance on public funding to sustain service levels.” It claims that bus mileage in the conurbation is down by 42% over the past decade and that services have suffered from “sustained underinvestment in customer service standards.”
Mayor of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard has welcomed the assessment’s conclusion. He describes it as “another huge step towards us getting better buses and getting back the world class bus system we once had.”
Mr Coppard adds: “Right now, our bus services are in a spiral of decline. That is not just a disaster for our economy, or our environment – it is denying opportunity to people right across our communities.”
In creating the assessment, four franchising options were considered based around various combinations of ownership of depots and vehicles. Favoured is that both asset classes are the property of the Combined Authority, which it says is “the most affordable option.”
That would involve SYMCA taking on ‘legacy fleet’ from incumbent operators and enable the Combined Authority “to offer bidders for franchise contracts full access to depot and fleet assets… This opens access to new entrants to South Yorkshire’s bus market and [encourages] financially competitive bids,” the summary paper states.
Such an approach, in addition to being affordable, demonstrates value for money, is deliverable, and better meets SYMCA’s objectives when compared to other courses of action, the Combined Authority claims. Its paper observes that “the franchise option would be affordable over a 35-year appraisal period.”
Details of the costs of franchising have not yet been published, although the summary notes that it will require “significant capital investment” in depots and fleet and come with estimated transition costs of £25 million. Ongoing revenue support would be through the region’s transport levy, which would rise at RPI +1% from 2030.
“These financing methods are making the franchising option affordable and able to generate a surplus that can be used to support a further cycle of fleet investment needs,” the papers add, hinting at heavy spend on zero-emission buses under the plans. The cost of the franchising assessment exercise was previously stated to be £3 million.
SYMCA believes that regardless of the future service delivery model, significant public sector intervention in the region’s bus network will be required to prevent ongoing decline. What it terms “franchise packages” would be offered in stages and different sizes should reregulation progress.
South Yorkshire is among four conurbations in the North of England to advocate bus franchising. Rollout is underway in Greater Manchester, while the process is confirmed as going ahead in the Liverpool City Region. In West Yorkshire, Mayor Tracy Brabin will make a decision on bus reform on 14 March, with franchising expected to get the nod.
