Demand the next South Yorkshire Mayor makes the Better Buses Pledge!

Our buses are in crisis. But there is a solution: public control would mean decisions about local services ultimately lie with us, not unaccountable private shareholders.

The last mayor was elected on a pledge to take buses into public control but a lack of ambition means South Yorkshire is nearly two years behind schedule! We're falling behind mayors in Manchester, Liverpool, and Leeds.

Between the cost-of-living crisis and climate emergency, we can’t risk more delays!

You can help guarantee it won’t happen again. Ask the candidates who haven't yet signed up to back our Better Buses Pledge committing them to make public control a top priority.

Simon Biltcliffe (Yorkshire Party)

Oliver Coppard (Labour Party)

Bex Whyman (Green Party)

Clive Watkinson (Conservative Party)

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I am writing to you because I am very concerned about the future of my local community and I am trying to decide who to vote for in the May local elections. That's why I'm calling on you to make the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uR2RGy5uNAaV5CkBr0SEr2dr5NQ_sHSMsKMYJzmwJkw/edit?usp=sharing">Better Buses Pledge</a>. I desperately need to be able to travel around our region. Whether it’s for work, health care, education, shopping or even just to see family and friends, I know my neighbours do too. But the cost of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BBCYorkshire/photos/a.458321459625/10160223728829626/">travelling by car</a> is rising rapidly. And so are <a href="https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/transport/anger-over-price-rise-on-travelmaster-tickets-3551528">bus fares</a>! I feel at risk of becoming more cut off or having to cut back on other essentials to get around. With parts of our region projected to be <a href="https://coastal.climatecentral.org/map/8/-0.8389/53.2796/?theme=sea_level_rise&map_type=year&basemap=roadmap&contiguous=true&elevation_model=best_available&forecast_year=2050&pathway=ssp3rcp70&percentile=p50&refresh=true&return_level=return_level_1&rl_model=gtsr&slr_model=ipcc_2021_med">underwater by 2050</a> due to the climate crisis, I also want to use the car less to protect the planet and the future of our communities. While local trains and trams can do for medium- and long-distance journeys, they can’t get me door-to-door. I really need a better bus network to help me get around, without the cost and emissions of driving a car. Unfortunately, our buses are anything but convenient. Up to a <a href="https://travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-gb/newsupdates/bus-punctuality">quarter of services</a> fail to turn up on time. <a href="https://www.common-wealth.co.uk/reports/all-aboard-transforming-bus-services">Fares rise well above inflation.</a> And all the while the network is shrinking, meaning your ticket or bus pass gets you to fewer and fewer places. No wonder passenger levels have dropped <a href="https://www.southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk/getmedia/ba9b55bc-9e8f-4165-b45b-03d130dacb8d/Bus-Review-Report-June-2020-(accessible).pdf">over a fifth in the last decade</a>! A few days in London makes it clear that things don’t have to be this way. In London, buses are affordable, frequent, reliable, and they get you door-to-door. That’s because their buses are in public control, meaning local people, not unaccountable company executives, have the final say over local services through the ballot box. It’s no wonder that people living in towns on the edge of London can access 7 <a href="http://inews.co.uk/news/politics/levelling-up-transport-jobs-red-wall-tory-mps-1238491">times as many jobs</a>, by travelling on public transport for an hour, as towns around South Yorkshire! It’s not just London, with its better funding, that performs better when the public is involved in running buses. Wherever buses are in public control or ownership, they’re performing better. Ridership has remained steady in <a href="http://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/articles/northern-ireland-transport-statistics">Northern Ireland</a> and <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1030632/bus0109.ods">Nottingham</a>, while <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-back-better">Jersey</a> (8%), <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-back-better">Reading</a> (8%), and <a href="https://archive2021.parliament.scot/S5_Rural/Lothian_Buses_TB.pdf">Edinburgh</a> (2%) have seen significant growth year on year. Franchising consistently delivers outcomes better than the alternative. No wonder it has such wide support, including from <a href="https://www.ippr.org/publications/greasing-the-wheels-getting-our-bus-and-rail-markets-on-the-move">IPPR</a>, <a href="https://www.transportforqualityoflife.com/u/files/160120_Building_a_world-class_bus_system_for_Britain_FINAL1.pdf">Transport for a Quality Life</a>, the <a href="https://www.centreforcities.org/reader/get-on-board/">Centre for Cities</a>, <a href="https://www.cpre.org.uk/resources/every-village-every-hour-2021-buses-report-full-report/">CPRE</a> (The Countryside Charity), <a href="https://www.common-wealth.co.uk/reports/all-aboard-transforming-bus-services">CommonWealth</a>, the <a href="https://sheffieldtuc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Transport-Manifesto-Final-Yorks-and-Humber-Pensioners-Convention.pdf">National Pensioners Convention</a> and the <a href="https://chrgj.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Report-Public-Transport-Private-Profit.pdf">Centre for Human Rights and Global Justice</a>. The list goes on. The fantastic thing is, we don’t have to wait for Westminster on this change. Franchising buses is a power that the next Mayor of South Yorkshire will have. Manchester’s Metro Mayor, Andy Burnham, has recently decided to bring buses into public control. That‘s allowed him to bring in a <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/bus-passenger-fares-capped-2-23371469">£2 hopper fare for Manchester</a>. Can you imagine the difference that could make for South Yorkshire? It’s not just Manchester. Mayors in Liverpool and West Yorkshire are also pursuing public control. Why is South Yorkshire being left behind by the other M62 mayors? Our current mayor was <a href="https://southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk/getmedia/36535b1c-6c31-407c-870e-d473c3b39a6c/Dan-Jarvis-Manifesto.pdf">elected on a pledge</a> to “use regulatory powers, and eventually franchising, to improve bus services.” After four years in office, progress towards this <a href="https://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/politics/our-buses-are-in-crisis-all-the-key-points-from-south-yorkshire-council-leaders-as-politicians-agree-to-explore-bus-franchising-3600557">only formally started in the last two months</a>. According to the <a href="https://www.southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk/getmedia/ba9b55bc-9e8f-4165-b45b-03d130dacb8d/Bus-Review-Report-June-2020-(accessible).pdf">Mayor’s own bus review</a>, the region is now 21 months behind schedule! Please don’t let South Yorkshire be the poor relation to other city regions! That’s why I’m calling on you to make the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uR2RGy5uNAaV5CkBr0SEr2dr5NQ_sHSMsKMYJzmwJkw/edit?usp=sharing">Better Buses Pledge</a>: to deliver a final decision on public control in your first two years in office through an APT process (accountable, prompt, and transparent). Please see more on the specific pledge <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uR2RGy5uNAaV5CkBr0SEr2dr5NQ_sHSMsKMYJzmwJkw/edit?usp=sharing">here</a>. I believe we deserve a mayor who will put this issue at the heart of their time in office: that means a commitment to get franchising done, backed up with a clear plan to act. I want to decide on who to vote for in the May elections in time to vote by post. Please respond to let me know if you will adopt the Better Buses Pledge as soon as possible.

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