Remember to have your say - South Yorkshire bus services
Bus passengers in South Yorkshire are being reminded to have their say about the services which are most important to them, as the region braces for further bus cuts this autumn.
Communities are being asked to help shape how the region’s public money is used to protect routes at risk, when government funding provided to bus companies throughout the pandemic ends.
South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard and council leaders have already stepped in with over £5 million from the region’s emergency budget to protect school buses.
But the public budget for South Yorkshire’s buses – paid through people’s council tax - will not stretch to cover all of the services at risk of being cut.
Views are being sought in a public survey, which closes on Friday (19 August), to help make the most effective use of South Yorkshire bus budget, to pay for services where communities rely on them the most.
Under South Yorkshire’s current system, bus companies are free to decide where and when they will run services. When bus companies withdraw services, as they are expected to do in October when government funding stops, SYMCA can pay other companies to run the route.
Between October 2022 and April 2023, South Yorkshire’s public budget to support bus services – part of the council tax residents pay for public transport – is £11.9 million. It is estimated to cost at least £23 million to replace all the services that bus companies could remove.
Give your views on support for bus services until Friday 19 August
