A PLEDGE which will see millions of pounds invested to improve the punctuality of under-fire bus services across one of the worst-affected areas for reliability has been hailed by an MP.
Marie Tidball, who represents Penistone and Stocksbridge, asked the Transport Secretary Louise Haigh in Parliament about how the new funding will deliver more affordable and reliable bus routes across Penistone and Stocksbridge.
The local MP highlighted discussions with constituents about the delays and unreliability of buses in the area.
In her reply, Ms Haigh confirmed the £17m which has been ring-fenced for South Yorkshire will deliver better bus services, which are ‘more reliable and more frequent’.
The investment has been designated to enhance popular routes, protect rural services and ‘increase bus use for shopping, socialising and commuting’.
The funding announcement is the latest on the government’s pledge to deliver better buses, with a new ‘Buses Bill’ set to be introduced to Parliament in the coming months.
It will help prevent service reductions on at-risk routes and improve punctuality, to bring an end to the current ‘postcode lottery’ of unreliable services, according to Ms Tidball.
“Since 2010, bus services have declined 53 per cent in Penistone and Stocksbridge alone,” she said.
“As part of this investment, the way funding is allocated has been reformed.
“This will allocate funding based on need and will end the Conservative Party’s wasteful system of competitive bidding for funding, which wastes resources and delays decisions.
“This funding announcement comes alongside the government’s plans to deliver the biggest overhaul to the country’s bus services in a generation, and call time on four decades of failed deregulation.
“Labour’s expanding the power to take back control of local bus services to every community, and is speeding up the process of delivering public control of buses by removing barriers to bus franchising and public ownership.
“I am delighted to hear the Transport Secretary has confirmed £17m of new bus funding across South Yorkshire.
“Constituents regularly tell me buses across our constituency are often delayed and doesn’t always stop even when a bus stop is busy.
“This means constituents and their children are often late to school, work and hospital appointments, and are often forced to resort to their cars because the services are so unreliable.
“People here are tired of unreliable, infrequent bus services holding them back from opportunities after a decade of neglect of our local bus services.
“This new government has a plan to deliver better buses across the country, and this funding boost is another crucial step on that journey.”
At last month’s South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) board meeting, Mayor Oliver Coppard and county bosses - including Barnsley Council leader Sir Steve Houghton - considered an independent review of the bus franchising assessment and agreed to progress to a 12-week public consultation on the proposed franchising scheme.
This began on October 23 and will end on January 15, after Mr Coppard said he has been committed to improving buses since his election, with feedback from more than 30 public meetings on services - including many in Barnsley - which made clear that the ‘current system is not working for them’.
Ms Haigh added: “Buses are the lifeblood of communities, but the system is broken.
“Too often, passengers are left waiting hours for buses that don’t turn up - and some have been cut off altogether.
“That’s why we’re reforming funding to deliver better buses across the country and end the postcode lottery of bus services.
“This is part of our wider plan to put passengers first and give every community the power to take back control of their bus services through franchising or public ownership.
“By delivering better buses, we’ll ensure people have proper access to jobs and opportunities - powering economic growth in every corner of the country.”
