Work starts on Sheffield free bus travel scheme for children and young people
Sheffield City Council wants to emulate the success of the hugely popular Barnsley MiCard Travel Pass scheme.
Work is beginning to devise a pilot scheme for free bus travel for children and young people in Sheffield.
Sheffield City Council wants to emulate the success of the hugely popular Barnsley MiCard Travel Pass scheme. That saw one million free bus journeys taken by young people aged five to 18 in its first six months starting last August.
The scheme was funded by £5m Barnsley Council and £1m from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.
A motion agreed by the February full council meeting supported bringing a scheme to Sheffield.
The council’s strategy and resources policy committee this week (March 25) heard from Will Stewart, director of investment, climate change and planning.
He said that the committee was being asked to approve work on putting together a proposal for a six-month pilot scheme, set to run from January to July 2027.
Mr Stewart said: “Transport affordability is a big barrier to some people in our city, particularly the more deprived communities.
“Improving access to education and training for young people is a key priority.”
He said it has been shown that a blanket approach has a far higher take-up than a means-tested scheme.
Mr Stewart added that South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard is considering bringing in a regional scheme later in 2027, so the Sheffield pilot would act as a stop-gap if that goes ahead.
Coun Ben Miskell said: “Many of us can remember what it was like when public transport worked in our city and we will be going back to that time next September when we launch bus franchising.”
He added: “What a wonderful problem that would be if we as a city had to put on ‘hot buses’ effectively to increase the number of services that would be available in order for children to go to school, so that families didn’t have to jump in the car and didn’t have to take that financial hit to do so.”
He said that 63% of free journeys started in the most deprived neighbourhoods in Barnsley.
Coun Angela Argenzio said that South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard had confirmed the free travel scheme expansion only the day before.
“So why would we commit millions of pounds of our reserves to a pilot for something that’s going to happen anyway a few months later?”
She suggested a pilot for free travel for under-22s, to expand upon the mayor’s scheme. She said one in three people in the city don’t have access to a car anyway so it wouldn’t necessarily cut car journeys.
Coun Kurtis Crossthorn asked why the proposal was coming before the committee when it had already been agreed unanimously by the full council.
He added: “Maybe, as Coun Argenzio said at the end, it’s because there’s an election coming up? Who knows!”
Coun Fran Belbin said that council officers were doing what they had been asked to do by the full council. Referring to the criticisms, she added: “I find them a little bit bizarre, to be honest.”
She also criticised the idea that people in deprived areas don’t drive their children to school, judging by the numbers of cars outside schools causing problems in her Firth Park ward, which is one of the city’s poorest.
Coun Belbin said the pilot would be “a massive bonus” to people suffering through a cost-of-living crisis likely to be made worse by rising oil prices.
The proposal was nodded through with no opposition.