My plan for South Yorkshire’s transport

To get there, I will:

Take the final decision to bring our buses back under public control within 12 months, reversing the failed experiment of privatised public transport across South Yorkshire.

The public transport system I grew up with in South Yorkshire was world class. But after thirty-five years of our buses being run by private companies, our bus network is broken. We’ve lost 40% of bus miles in the last decade alone. So we will act to bring our buses back under public control. To take that step, we need to follow the process set down in law by the government in London. We are already going through the process faster than anyone else in the country, but we will bring that process to a conclusion within twelve months. With a publicly controlled bus and tram network we will create an integrated transport network, connecting people with opportunity, and helping us to grow not just a bigger but a better economy across the whole of South Yorkshire.    

Reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport, creating a thriving regional airport at the heart of South Yorkshire Airport City; a world leading centre for sustainable aviation.

Since Peel took the decision to close DSA last year, I have worked tirelessly to reopen our airport. We have already committed up to £138 million towards a ten-year plan for DSA, and Doncaster Council have now signed a lease with Peel taking back control of the site. I will work with Doncaster Council to bring in a private operator to turn DSA into the thriving regional airport we know it can be, while working to develop the wider South Yorkshire Airport City concept as a world leading sustainable aviation hub at Gateway East in Doncaster.

Extend and renew our publicly controlled tram network, building a more reliable, bigger tram system that connects communities across South Yorkshire.

In March of this year, we took our tram network back into public control. Now begins a new era for South Yorkshire Supertram; with the proper support from central government we will put in place an ambitious, long-term plan to both repair and renew our tram network, with new trams, more stops and an extended tram network across South Yorkshire. Thriving places have transport systems that connect people with opportunity. By investing in Supertram we can provide our communities with regular, clean, safe and efficient transport, and more choice and freedom about how to travel and move across South Yorkshire.       

Make South Yorkshire the best place in the country to walk, wheel and cycle for our children, with an ambitious plan for active travel centred around schools. 

Active travel is central to my vision of a better-connected South Yorkshire. If we’re going to get there we need to build more and better infrastructure, but we also need to create a new generation of people who see walking, wheeling and cycling as an obvious first choice. So I will commit to making South Yorkshire the best place in the country to walk, wheel and cycle for our children, putting in place a well-resourced plan to make schools the centre of our active travel plans. 

Test and trial free travel on public transport for young people in South Yorkshire. 

Public transport is a vital lifeline for people across South Yorkshire, none more so than young people. Through the increased freedoms offered by taking our buses back under public control, we will test and trial free travel on public transport for young people across South Yorkshire. We will develop that free fares policy for young people to create true freedom and choice for South Yorkshire’s next generation. Better access to public transport for young people has the potential to radically improve access to education and training, while saving families hundreds of pounds every year.