County’s bus partnership ‘failing on its own terms’, claim Greens
SHEFFIELD CITY Region Mayor Dan Jarvis has been urged to improve South Yorkshire’s buses, after opposition councillors claimed the county’s Bus Partnership had ‘failed’ on its own terms.
Councillors Rob Murphy, leader of the Green Party in Sheffield, and Douglas Johnson, who represents City ward, have put forward a motion to a full Sheffield city council meeting calling on Mr Jarvis to take action.
They call on the recently-elected metro mayor to take action towards greater public control of Sheffield’s bus network, including an immediate review of current services and public consultation on future provision.
Coun Murphy said: “Due to warring council leaders, our city region mayor doesn’t have many powers but improving our buses is one of them.
“We’re calling on Dan Jarvis to use these to take back control of our buses and improve journey times for all travellers.”
In their motion they said the Sheffield Bus Partnership ‘failed’ on its own terms after losing 10 per cent of their patronage since 2012, approximately five million passenger journeys per year.
They also say there has been no progress or action on bus regulation since Mr Jarvis was elected in May. Controlling the bus service is one of the few powers available to the South Yorkshire mayor.
In response, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive’s Director of Public Transport Ben Gilligan said bus use had been on a downward trend nationally since 2008.
He said: “This is due to a number of factors, that also apply to South Yorkshire and Sheffield. Congestion in urban areas and city centres, for instance, has affected bus performance.”
A spokesperson for the Sheffield City Region combined authority said the mayor was taking measures to improve services and that ‘much has been achieved’ since he was elected in May.
They said this includes working closely with local councils and South Yorkshire Passenger Travel Executive and creating a transport strategy.