Agenda item

The Committee was provided with an update on Transport. The South Yorkshire bus network had undergone a turbulent period as a result of COVID-19, and Government had been providing short-term funding support to maintain services. Since this period, extensions to Government funding had largely been communicated at short notice, and a further funding extension of approximately £6.3 until March 2025 had recently been announced.

The MCA had therefore not used financial reserves which had been put aside to protect general services and school bus services, allowing the extension of the £2 fare cap until October 2024, and greater protection of priority services. However, the funding extension would not fund the total cost of services across the network, £41m.

It was noted that, in comparison, West Yorkshire Combined Authority had received £77m worth of funding from Government to deliver its bus network.

This difference in funding was due to South Yorkshire not being awarded Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus (BSIP) funding, though it had bid for approximately £300m. It was noted that BSIP funding had originally been awarded for transformation of bus networks but had subsequently been permitted for use in running day-to-day services.

The MCA was continuing to develop the quality of its bids for Government funding, and to lobby Government for additional support for the bus network, but had been advised that there is currently no funding available beyond what has been distributed.

The MCA was therefore working to develop a multi-year plan to determine how it will use available resource to support priority services, and concessions beyond September 2023, with a decision being taken by the MCA Board Meeting in July.

Questions were asked around the future of disabled persons bus passes, and the criteria for their allocation. A response was given that Local Authorities have a statutory obligation to provide disabled persons bus passes and are responsible for setting criteria for receipt. ACTION: Director of Public Transport Operations to circulate further information on qualification criteria for disabled persons bus passes.

Further detail was requested on how a longer-term plan would be developed for protecting the network. A response was given that following responses to a public consultation in October 2023, routes which serviced travel to school workplaces and healthcare were prioritised for protection. In collaboration with the Local Authorities, this would now be revisited and each service would also be individually analysed, as well as the cost per passenger, assessment of equality impacts and options for backfilling any gaps.

ACTION: Director of Public Transport Operations to circulate information on any processes followed when withdrawing or reinstating services to better support elected members to engage in this exercise.

It was asked how these difficulties align with the assessment of a Franchised Bus Service in South Yorkshire. A response was given that if approved a franchised service would take a significant amount of time to implement, but that stability of the network was a priority for the MCA regardless.

RESOLVED that the update on Transport be noted.