Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, will attend a board meeting next week, where he hopes to take steps to transform South Yorkshire’s bus services.

On Tuesday 12th March, the Mayoral Combined Authority hopes to take steps towards being given ownership of all bus depots and fleets, allowing them to improve buses’ punctuality, reliability and consistency of standards and accessibility.

He said: “Right now our bus services are in a spiral of decline.

“That’s not just a disaster for our economy, or our environment, it’s denying opportunity to people right across our communities.”

Since Mayor Coppard’s election, there have been 30 public meetings across all four boroughs, with feedback saying South Yorkshire’s bus system is not working.

He said: “I want us to have nothing less than a world class, fully integrated public transport system connecting up our buses, trams, trains and active travel routes, so we can give everybody choice and freedom about how to travel and move across South Yorkshire.”

The Mayoral Combined Authority said that buses reliance on public funding has increased, despite the fact that quality of services have declined.

In the past 10 years the quantity of bus mileage supported by public funding has increased by 7%, and is predicted to be increased by a further 4% this year.

They also hope to help South Yorkshire achieve net zero aims by renewing the fleet of buses.

On the 27 February, Better Buses for South Yorkshire, an organization run by We Own It, they handed in an open letter with over 1060 signatures to the SYMCA offices, which called for quicker progress towards public control.

In addition, they have planned a rally outside next week’s MCA board meeting between 12 and 1pm, where they will show their support of the area’s passenger-led campaign.

If the MCA’s assessment is approved, there will be a 12-week public consultation to make sure that local passengers, businesses and transport providers can have their say before the decision is implemented.

Mayor Coppard said: “Next week’s meeting will allow us to take the next big step towards bus reform and if the MCA Board agree, we will then move to an independent audit; the next stage in the process.”