Sheffield Lib Dems fight for better bus services in the face of widespread cuts

Councillors have passed a Liberal Democrat proposal that will help support local bus services for the people of Sheffield ahead of recently announced widespread cuts coming this Autumn.

South Yorkshire and Sheffield are facing severe bus cuts this year with 1 in 3 routes facing the axe. It is unclear at this stage how the cuts will be implemented, but it is likely that routes will be reduced or even discontinued altogether. This would leave many people without a reliable form of transport, and could have a significant impact on their ability to get to work, school, or the shops.

The Lib Dem motion called for franchising in a similar way to what the Manchester Mayoral Authority is currently doing and what London has done in the past. Liberal Democrats say this will be the best long-term solution for Sheffield public transport as it will provide the South Yorkshire Mayoral authority with more control over where and when buses are run. This should allow them to improve bus services and hopefully get more people throughout that city back on public transport.

This victory in the Town Hall pushes our campaign a step forward. Now the pressure is on the Mayor to act. Sign our open letter to the Mayor here.

Lib Dem Transport Spokesperson Councillor Andrew Sangar says, “We have come to a cliff edge. If nothing changes by October, a fifth of Sheffield buses and a third of bus routes will be lost.  Soon, lots of people all around Sheffield will have no way of getting to work, going to school, or going to the shops, they will have no way of living their lives. “

“Something has to change, and franchising is a good start. It should have been done years ago by the previous Mayor of South Yorkshire, but he did not act, so we are now demanding that the new Labour Mayor Oliver Coppard gets on top of this issue, and quickly as there is no time to lose if we are to save Sheffield buses.” 

Councillor Kurtis Crossland who seconded the motion added, “While buses are a fantastic way of reducing congestion and combatting climate change, it is important to acknowledge that buses are also a necessity for thousands of people across Sheffield.” 

“As someone who relies on public transport myself, I know that for many of us there is no other option, that’s why we must fix our broken public transport system. Year after year, we’ve watched fares being raised and routes abandoned and something needs to change. Despite this, yet again we are seeing further cuts with one is three bus routes getting the chop. This will of course will dramatically impact thousands of lives all across Sheffield.”