Bus franchising Consultation: Monthly message from Cllr Hunt

Cllr Tom Hunt, Leader of Sheffield City Council, talks about the decision to hold a consultation on bus franchising:

Sheffield is transforming day by day. New homes are being built and regeneration projects are underway with cranes dotted across the city’s skyline. It is an exciting time for our city.

And now we are moving forward with a plan to improve our buses.

Buses are vital for thousands of people in Sheffield to get to work, access education, go shopping, to care for loved ones and to see friends and family. But I know that our buses are currently not good enough.

For 40 years, since privatisation in the 1980s, private bus companies have been able to pick and choose routes, cut services and put profit ahead of passengers. Our deregulated bus system means communities have little say and no control.

There is a way to turn this around. This week we have taken a big step forward to bring our buses back under public control in Sheffield and across South Yorkshire.

On October 23rd, a public consultation is being launched about whether to move to a ‘franchise’ model for our buses. This would bring regulation of bus routes, frequencies, fares, and tickets under local public control.

The consultation will ask you if South Yorkshire should adopt a franchise system. This is what has happened in Greater Manchester. Mayor Andy Burnham took control of the bus network in September 2023. Since then, figures show that there has been a more reliable service in Manchester with record numbers of people using buses.

This is what we want to achieve in Sheffield. Better bus services with more people using them would ease congestion on our roads, it will help further improve air quality, and it would provide people with more opportunities.

Improving public transport is about social justice. Unreliable and infrequent buses rob people of opportunity. Everyone, wherever you live, whatever your income, should have access to good quality public transport.

We know that public transport that is run for the public works. In March, South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, brought the Supertram back into public control for the first time in 27 years. The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority is now responsible for the running, upkeep and expansion of the network, and are developing ambitious plans to expand the tram network.  

I’m hugely optimistic for Sheffield. Creating a better bus network in the coming years is a key part of our plans to give people more opportunities. Look out for the consultation and please have your say. Whether you currently use the buses or not, we want to hear from you.