Decision details

A one-off Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) of up to £2.5m from treasury management windfall was established by the Combined Authority in August 2023, to support innovative transport projects in South Yorkshire.

TIF funding is not intended to provide further, short-term protection to bus services, but instead to support innovative transport-related proposals that demonstrate the potential in the future to offer a more efficient means of supporting individual and community mobility than the current approach.

In discussions with Leaders, there is a strong appetite to pilot trials of Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) across the region to investigate whether this offers a more cost effective way of serving areas that struggle to maintain a timetabled bus service.

These proposals are to be delivered and evaluated by the end of March 2025 and if successful, could offer an innovative way of reducing pressure on the tendered services budget.

Therefore, in February 2024 the MCA board approved delegated authority to the Head of Paid Service in consultation with Mayor Coppard – in his position as the Portfolio lead for Transport – for consideration of the Transport Innovation Fund pilot schemes, and delegated authority to the Head of Paid Service in consultation with the Section 73 and Monitoring Officer to enter into legal agreements for the schemes.

Option 1 – Approve the recommendations

1. Approve the recommendations
2. Reject some, or all, of the recommendations