Source: Combined Authorities (England)
Author: Jane Thomas
Date published: 2026-03-23
[original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end]
Like a phoenix rising the people of former “socialist republic of South Yorkshire” now have their own transport network
I will put my cards on the table – I am a massive fan of public transport. Some of this was born out of necessity. I didn’t get a car until I was in my twenties so if I wanted to see friends, a gig, go away, get to work I was reliant on the bus or train. Rather how most people live their lives in London.
But later in my life travelling on transport has been a pleasure and indeed many holidays have been wrapped around trains. We managed to get to the border of Turkey using only bus and train and travelled the length of the longest country in the world mainly by bus.
However it was getting involved in the devolution campaigns in the nineties and noughties that sealed the deal for me. As Director of the Campaign for Yorkshire and one of the founders of the Campaign for the English Regions arguing for greater regional autonomy and powers I spent my days ruminating about regional disparities, connectivity, jobs and growth, and yes climate change. And so often it comes back to good and affordable public transport.
How do we connect lonely and isolated people and how do we connect communities? How do we get young people to college or to work? What can stimulate productivity? And increasingly important, how do we get people out of their cars and onto public transport to address congestion issues and reduce greenhouse gas emissions [responsible for over 50% of CO2 from road transport in some places].
I also need to explain that I live in Sheffield. The city in the middle of what was referred to in the 1970s and 1980s as the Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire, so called for its radical approach to providing cheap public transport. It wasn’t just the cheap fares [5p maximum fare at one stage] it was also the heavily subsidised arts and youth clubs and so much more that made South Yorkshire a thorn in the side of Margaret Thatcher and the Tories. So much so she abolished all the metropolitan counties [South Yorkshire County Council ceased to exist in 1986] and in an act of extreme vengeance forced through a pit closure programme and privatisation that wreaked havoc economically and socially across the region. Something for which we are still paying the price.
But what goes around comes around. Now we have a Combined Authority for South Yorkshire led by Oliver Coppard, the directly elected mayor with powers over economic development, skills housing and -yes- public transport.
And finally after decades of underinvestment our buses here in South Yorkshire will be brought back into public control through bus franchising. The Mayors visions for transport was published earlier this week outlining some big changes. And drawing on the former glories of the region the transport system will be rebadged The Peoples Network – with a commitment to keep fares as low as possible. I can feel a badge coming on already.
From 2027 new electric buses will be introduced. Free travel for under-18s is promised following the successful pilot in Barnsley. There is a review of the whole network so services are better joined up, integrated ticketing and new and improved bus shelters.
It’s not just the buses. The tram network is expanding into Rotherham [opening this summer] with the aim of connecting Doncaster and Chesterfield in the future and more park and ride facilities. The Northern Powerhouse Rail money recently announced will bring an upgrade to Sheffield station, a new Rotherham station and faster and more frequent links to Leeds and Manchester.
For cyclists there is the promise of a new E-bike subscription and E-bike hire scheme and a Safer Roads Strategic Action Plan.
This all comes at a price – it’s a £1.5bn investment but as Mayor Coppard says this is “ as a ‘once in a generation change’. It is also an investment worth making as all the evidence shows that better transport and connectivity boosts productivity, open up job markets and attacks inwards investment and innovation. And South Yorkshire with the lowest productivity on any northern region [nearly 20 below the average for England] needs all the help it can get.
So let’s hear it for the Peoples Network. It is ambitious but it is much needed. It is not a panacea for all the things we need to address in South Yorkshire but it is part of the devolution dividend we actually need to feel and see. And importantly this is about the future. Whilst ever we have a climate emergency, fuel uncertainty and cost of living crisis an efficient public transport system that is cheap and accessible become a no brainer.
The post The People’s Network: South Yorkshire Takes Back Control of Transport appeared first on Progress.
The People’s Network: South Yorkshire Takes Back Control of Transport
