Following disquiet about the provision of bus services in the region, especially around Sheffield, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) is looking to bring forward proposals to introduce a franchising system.
The Mayoral Combined Authority said that planned changes by First Bus are ‘deeply disappointing,’ and that the threat of further reductions by other operators remains real. The Authority called the situation deeply frustrating having pumped major resources into reviving passenger numbers. “At a moment when we have shown our commitment to build a better bus service for South Yorkshire, cuts would directly undermine that ambition, and risk fuelling a vicious cycle of decline,” SYMCA said in a statement. “Whatever the challenges facing operators, a rush to reduce services seriously calls into question their willingness to be credible partners in building the transformation they claim to support.”
The Authority also criticised the Government for failing to live up to promises: “It is however clear that the Government has also contributed greatly to this situation – with ongoing uncertainty over continued recovery funding from April and growing doubts over long term investment adding to the pressure on operators. We submitted an ambitious Bus Service Improvement Plan and began the process of negotiating an Enhanced Partnership in good faith – and yet much of the promised financing by the Government appears to be evaporating,” the statement said.
“Our immediate focus now will be on minimising disruption for passengers. But we remain absolutely committed to creating a fundamentally better service. That includes, as we have always intended, bringing forward proposals for the January MCA meeting to consider starting the formal process of investigating bus franchising as a way to deliver the service South Yorkshire needs.”
