TRANSPORT - TRAVEL IN SOUTH YORKSHIRE

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) has authorised the assessment of a proposed bus franchising scheme in South Yorkshire.

See our bus franchising page for further information.
 
The notice of intention, confirmed on 4 March 2022, sets in motion the legally-required work to see whether a franchising model – which would bring regulation of routes, frequencies, fares, and tickets under local control – could help efforts to transform the region’s transport.
 
 Read the Notice of intention to prepare a franchising assessment (PDF, 100kb) 
 
Under a franchising scheme, accountability for bus services would transfer from private operators to SYMCA.
 
The assessment of bus franchising follows the approval of a formal Enhanced Bus Partnership Scheme (PDF, 107Kb) , in response to the government’s National Bus Strategy (Bus Back Better), to deliver the region’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (PDF, 5Mb).
 
The initial Enhanced Bus Partnership agreement between SYMCA and local bus operators will remain in place for an initial period of between 3 and 5 years, allowing progress to be made on bus improvements at the same time as the formal assessment of bus franchising is undertaken.

On 22^nd March 2024 SYMCA brought the operation of our Supertram system back under public control. This gives us a further tool to drive growth through the development of an integrated transport network. The 25/26 Supertram Business plan highlights SYMCA’s priorities for the Supertram system and the investment we will make over the next financial year. It has been developed to support our strategic aim of growing South Yorkshire’s economy and focuses on ensuring we have a light rail system which people take pride in, which understands its purpose and supports the region’s prosperity.

See our Supertram Business Plan 2025/26 here (PDF 13MB). 

The Department for Transport (DfT) has mandated that all local transport authorities are required to review and update their statutory Local Transport Plans (LTPs) to align with current national and local priorities, and to provide a more consistent basis for determining future investment priorities. As one of our core statutory duties, SYMCA is working closely with our four local authority partners with the aim of having a preliminary draft Strategy and Implementation document(s) in place by Winter 2025.

More information will follow on the details of public and stakeholder workshops and a formal public consultation on SYMCA’s Vision.

Transport Strategy from 2019 (PDF 6MB)

The Bus Review Report, which was concluded before the Coronavirus pandemic, took into consideration the experiences and feedback from 5,900 members of the public, bus users, community groups, businesses and interest groups, of the impact poor and unreliable bus services have had on their lives.

This evidence, as well as evidence from bus operators, local authorities, the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) and others, has contributed towards the findings and a number of recommendations aimed at providing passengers with a bus service that meets their needs.

Read the Bus Review report (PDF, 2Mb) 

Visit the Bus Review page to find out more about the Bus Review panel of commissioners.

Buses play a vital role in creating a stronger, greener and fairer South Yorkshire. Buses connect people to jobs, education, shops, health, leisure, family and friends; they are part of the fundamental fabric that shapes economic and social cohesion in our places and communities. 

In March 2021, the Government launched ‘Bus Back Better’ – a National Bus Strategy for England. This Strategy set out a requirement for local transport authorities to prepare and publish a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) by 31 October 2021, with the aim of making bus the mode of choice for everyone.  

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority’s BSIP responds to the priorities highlighted in the South Yorkshire Bus Review and outlines our ambitious plans for improving the region’s bus services.  The BSIP lays the groundwork for the Enhanced Partnership agreement between SYMCA and the bus operators, which will include a clear vision and plan for the delivery of our joint ambitions, together with the actions required to achieve a world class bus network fit for the future.

We want to make the bus offer the best value, with bus priority and other infrastructure changes to make journeys quicker. We want to improve the customer experience, provide better passenger information and journey planning support with ‘turn up and go’ options, and introduce zero emission buses to make travel cleaner and greener towards a net-zero future. 

To find out more, read the South Yorkshire Bus Service Improvement Plan (PDF, 4Mb) 

To support our BSIP ambitions our 2025-26 Delivery Plan is focused on funding bus services to provide improved accessibility to jobs, education, hospitals, and other key destinations.  We have been awarded by government bus funding allocation of £17,686,432 to support the continued provision of essential bus services and to invest in further bus service enhancements from April 2025 through to at least April 2026. A summary of the Delivery Plan can be found here (PDF 60KB). 

For transparency, we have published a notice of the names of bus operators objecting to proposed enhanced partnership plan and enhanced partnership scheme. 

Read the Notice of names of operators objecting (PDF, 113Kb)

The Enhanced Partnership Board has committed to a customer charter – the South Yorkshire Bus Promise – which outlines the service that bus users should be able to expect from their network. The South Yorkshire Bus Promise includes a number of commitments and future aspirations to address passenger concerns. It will help the Board guide improvements in the system and offer a framework for review and reporting of progress against agreed commitments. The Board will develop a delivery plan to ensure these commitments can be honoured. 

• South Yorkshire Bus Promise (Doc,65kb)

At the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Meeting on 21 March 2022, the Enhanced Partnership Plan and Enhanced Partnership Scheme – which set out our ambitions to improve bus services in South Yorkshire – were formally agreed from 1 April 2022. The Plan and Scheme came into operation on 10 June 2022. 

We ran a public consultation on our Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme from Friday 7 January until Sunday 20 February 2022. The Enhanced Partnership for South Yorkshire allows local leaders to work together with operators to improve ticketing, routes, and frequency of services across the region.

Read the Statutory Notice which states that a South Yorkshire Enhanced Partnership has been made, along with details of the Enhanced Partnership Plan and Enhanced Partnership Scheme below:

• Statutory Notice (PDF, 58kb)
• Enhanced Partnership Plan (PDF, 4.6mb)
• Enhanced Partnership Scheme (Revised 30 Sept 2022, PDF, 233kb)

The Enhanced Partnership came into effect on 10 June 2022, and we are working on delivering the outputs in the Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme, subject to funding availability.

Here in South Yorkshire we are passionate about active travel and how we can improve people’s lives and wellbeing.

Ed Clancy OBE, triple Olympic cycling champion, joined us in February 2023 as South Yorkshire’s new Active Travel Commissioner. Ed’s priority is to improve the region’s walking and cycling networks, so everyone feels safe and able to walk or cycle. 

To find out more about our ambitions plans for the cycling and walking in South Yorkshire visit our Active Travel section.

Ambitious proposals for the future of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority's transport network were submitted to the government’s Transforming Cities Fund in November 2019.

The bid, for up to £220m in funding, focused on three large areas which could most benefit from significant improvements across rail, public transport and active travel schemes. In March 2020, the Department for Transport confirmed that we had been successful in securing £166m through the Transforming Cities Fund.

The three areas the programme focuses on are the River Don “corridor” between Sheffield city centre and the Unity site north of Doncaster; the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID) on the border of Sheffield and Rotherham; and the Dearne Valley Corridor.

Read more on the Transforming Cities fund page.

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) was awarded £570 million to deliver increased infrastructure capacity, and support growth and productivity through the investment and delivery of the five-year City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS). 

This funding will build on the previous successful Transforming Cities Fund programme to focus on investing in improving the standards of our public transport system to unlock opportunities, drive patronage growth and strengthen the role of public transport in supporting economic growth. 

Find out more on our City Region Sustainable Ttransport Settlement page.

Local Highways Maintenance Fund 2025-26

In December 2024 the government announced the 2025 - 2026 highway maintenance funding allocations, which included an additional £500m as part of the 2024 Budget.   The additional funding award for South Yorkshire for 2025 – 2026 is £6.733m.

Keeping roads, pavements, and other parts of the highway network in good condition is an essential part of providing a safe, reliable transport system for everyone, whether you drive, walk, cycle, or use public transport.

This funding supports a wide range of repairs and maintenance, including:

• Resurfacing roads and cycle paths
• Fixing broken pavements
• Maintaining bridges, tunnels, retaining walls and other highway structures

Each local authority decides how best to use the funding based on the needs of their area. It’s not just about fixing potholes, it’s about keeping the whole highway network in good shape.

Of the four local authorities in South Yorkshire three are eligible to use this funding: Barnsley, Doncaster, and Rotherham councils.  

Sheffield receives its maintenance funding through a separate agreement with Government.

The arrangement where the three authorities use regional maintenance funding has been in place for a number of years and is based on a formula which recognises a range of factors including the total length of roads in the area, as shown below:

Sharing Progress and Staying Transparent

As part of the funding conditions, local authorities are asked to report on how the money is being used. This helps the government and the public understand where improvements are being made and supports the case for future investment.

These reporting requirements follow recommendations from the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee, which looked into the condition and maintenance of local roads in England. You can read the full report here: The Condition and Maintenance of Local Roads in England.

A further detailed breakdown of how the funding will be used by each Local Authority can be found in the links below:

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council funding

City of Doncaster Council funding

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council funding

Why Sheffield Isn’t Receiving This Government Funding

Sheffield’s highway maintenance is managed through a separate arrangement under the Department for Transport Private Finance Initiative called Streets Ahead. This 25-year agreement, which began in 2012, means Sheffield City Council’s PFI partners are responsible for maintaining the City’s highways including all road repairs.

Sheffield City Council will still publish reports to show how the city’s roads are being managed keeping residents informed and support transparency around the ongoing delivery of the PFI contract.

You can view Sheffield’s highways reporting here.