South Yorkshire bus franchising moves to consultation stage

Franchising of bus services in South Yorkshire will move to public consultation after the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) board approved that step on 8 October.

That 12-week process will open on 23 October and run until 15 January 2025. Submissions received will then be structured into an analysis report and a consultation response report, with those documents leading ultimately to Mayor Oliver Coppard deciding on the avenue for bus reform in the region.

At the same meeting on 8 October, the SYMCA approved giving notice of a proposed bus franchising scheme in South Yorkshire. The gathering follows submission and consideration of an independent review of the bus franchising assessment for the region. The latter document recommended franchising as the preferred path for reform.

The assessment found that franchising will deliver the best value for money and affordability when compared to Enhanced Partnership and Enhanced Partnership Plus, although SYMCA notes that to sustain the 2023/24 bus network, each mechanism would require additional public sector investment.

SYMCA has long highlighted the level of public funding already required by the region’s bus network. Papers before its meeting of 8 October claim that such monies supported 24% of services there by 2023/24, although no percentage of overall mileage is given.

Mr Coppard has repeatedly pledged to improve bus services in South Yorkshire. Progression to a regulated regime there now looks inevitable. “If we are to get back to reliable, frequent and more comprehensive services, then public control through a so-called ‘franchised’ model is the best way forward,” says Mr Coppard.

He continues: “Today we are taking a big step towards fixing public transport in South Yorkshire as we consider going back to the future.

“When I was a kid, we had a world-class bus network in South Yorkshire, 2p fares, reliable services and routes that ran right across the region. But after changes were made to how bus networks were managed in the 1980s, we have seen our buses go into a spiral of decline. Fewer people get the bus, so services get worse, so fewer people get the bus.

“I am really pleased that together with the leaders of South Yorkshire’s councils, we have agreed to move towards the next phase of the franchising process.”