Mayor launches bus service review

TRANSPORT: More bus services could be provided under measures to improve outdated public transport links for communities in South Yorkshire, the region’s elected mayor has said.

The Sheffield City Region’s Mayor Dan Jarvis has launched an independent review of the area’s bus services.

MORE BUS services could be provided under measures to improve outdated public transport links for communities in South Yorkshire, the region’s elected mayor has said.

The Sheffield City Region’s Mayor Dan Jarvis has launched an independent review of bus services after figures showed an 18 per cent decline in passenger numbers over the past decade.

Chaired by Clive Betts MP, the review will draw up recommendations to help reverse declining passenger numbers and make sure transport services are fit for the future.

Mr Jarvis said: “One of the main issues residents contact me about is bus services across our region. We need to understand the reasons for declining passenger numbers and take action where improvements are needed.”

He stressed that more than a quarter of households in South Yorkshire do not have access to a car, and said: “Buses therefore provide vital access to jobs, education, public services and social activities. It’s crucial that services are fit for purpose.”

The review, which makes use of new powers given to elected mayors as part of the Bus Services Act of 2017, will be carried out over the next 12 months.

Mr Jarvis added: “This should mean more environmentally friendly buses, more routes and more passengers.”

The review follows warnings of a UK-wide public transport crisis after years of inflation-busting fare increases while the number of bus journeys declined.

Mr Betts, the Labour MP for Sheffield South East, said: “I’m looking forward to working with others to gather evidence from a variety of stakeholders, interest groups and members of the public and providing recommendations to the Mayor on how he could take steps to improve the public transport system and ensure its fit for the 21st century.”

The review has been launched after bus services were heavily criticised in Mr Jarvis’s Transport Vision report for the Sheffield City Region, published in December.

The report said poor public transport links were a threat to economic growth and quality of life.

The number of people in the using bus services had declined by 18 per cent in 10 years and 27 per cent of households in the city region did not have access to a car. But it was estimated that there would be around 500,000 extra journeys on the region’s transport system by 2026.

The report said: “The links between our neighbourhoods and urban centres are not good enough and residents can struggle to get to work.”

Mr Jarvis also pledged to improve public transport for elderly and disabled people.

The report highlighted that 18 per cent of the people live in a rural area and the nation has an ageing population. The study also pointed out that a fifth of residents have a disability and communities in areas of high deprivation are more reliant on public transport as they are unable to afford to purchase a car.

Figures from the Department for Transport show that the number of bus journeys in England outside of London fell by 85 million in the year to March 2018, with fares rising in real terms. Bus fares in England rose by 71 per cent between March 2005 and March 2018, more than twice the 35 per cent increase in inflation over the same period.

It’s crucial that bus services are fit for purpose. Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis.