Mayor challenges Government to deliver on public transport promises

South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said an affordable, reliable public transport network should be a right not a privilege in the region.

He spoke out as analysis shows South Yorkshire would have £1bn more to spend on buses, trains, and bike lanes if it received the same amount of transport spending per head as London did last year.

In a speech at a Transport Summit in Doncaster, Coppard outlined his vision for the future of South Yorkshire’s public transport and challenged the Government to deliver on its promises.

He said: “My vision is for public transport as a public service, the clue is in the title; trains, buses, bike lanes that create and sustain our communities rather than being at the mercy of officials in London or shareholders in Dubai.

“A baby being born today in Doncaster should grow up breathing clean air. By 2030, when she turns seven, we want her to be able to walk or cycle safely to school with her friends; jump on a cheap, reliable bus to see her grandparents or play football at the weekends.

“By 2030, a child in Rotherham who is 10 years old today will be at a crossroads in their life. Their life chances should not be limited by unreliable and expensive transport options. They should not be forced to buy and run a car they can barely afford, and which our planet cannot afford either.

“Getting there won’t be cheap, and it won’t be easy. We’ll do everything we can with the tools we already have in South Yorkshire.

“But if we want to meet the Government’s own ambition of a ‘London-style public transport system’ by 2030, then we will need the same level of power, money and control over our public transport network as they already have down there.”

Coppard outlined a series of ambitions for the region including:

• Fully-devolved, needs-based funding for South Yorkshire
• Tram extensions using the UK-leading technology of Tram-Train
• An electrified railway linking Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley Dearne Valley to Leeds and beyond

He added he is already working to fix public transport, by:

• Bringing the tram network into public control and public ownership
• Accelerating the bus franchising assessment process
• Stepping in to train a new generation of bus drivers
• Using budget reserves to protect school bus services
• Launching an inquiry to ensure that what happened to Doncaster Sheffield Airport cannot happen again.

As well as the Mayor, the summit also heard from the region’s new active travel commissioner Ed Clancy, behavioural scientist Pete Dyson and representatives from other regions around the UK.