
ONE OF THE BIGGEST BUS FRANCHISING CONSULTATION EXERCISES IN THE COUNTRY CLOSES – WITH OVER 7,600 PEOPLE HAVING THEIR SAY
Published 16 January 2025 at 2:06pm
Thousands of people in South Yorkshire have had their say in one of the biggest franchising consultation exercises ever undertaken, anywhere in the country.
More than 7,600 people had their say on proposals to take bus services back under public control in South Yorkshire.
The 12-week consultation ran from Wednesday 23 October until Wednesday 15th January, and sought the views of people, businesses and organisations in South Yorkshire and beyond on proposals to introduce bus franchising.
Under bus franchising, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) would take control of the bus network including depots, bus fleets, routes, timetables, service standards, tickets and fares.
During the extensive consultation campaign 29 public information drop-in events were held in every corner of the region as well as every single college, university and main interchange in South Yorkshire. A communications and marketing campaign to raise awareness of the consultation and encourage people to get involved helped reach a big audience, including adverts on social media, billboards, buses and radio, as well as a leaflet drop. This multifaceted campaign was developed to reach as many audiences as possible.
As well as publishing the consultation online, to be as inclusive as possible, hard copies were posted out on request and were made available at transport interchanges and at drop-in events. The consultation was also made available in an easy-read format, in the main community languages spoken in South Yorkshire and a language line telephone service covering a range of languages.
Mayor Coppard has been committed to improving buses in South Yorkshire and putting people at the heart of decision making since his election, with feedback from over 30 public meetings on bus services in 2023 and 2024 making clear that the current system was not working for them.
South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “Over 7,600 people have now told us what they want to happen to bus services in South Yorkshire, in one of the biggest franchising consultation exercises ever undertaken in this country.
“The sheer number of responses shows just how much people here care about having a proper functioning bus service in South Yorkshire.
“I have always been clear about my hopes for our public transport system, but I’ve also been determined to make sure we give everyone the chance to have their say throughout this process too. People across South Yorkshire have now spoken and spoken clearly.
“I’ll now take the time to fully consider the consultation responses, along with all the other issues we need to work through, before making a final decision on whether to proceed with bus franchising.”
Following the consultation, a full report on the responses will be published, and a final decision is expected to be made on the future of South Yorkshire’s buses in Spring 2025.
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