Communities were cheering today, as the vital number 10/10a and M17 buses were returned to their routes, thanks to funding from Mayor Oliver Coppard.

More than 15% of bus services have been cut in the last year alone across South Yorkshire and the return of these vital services has been welcomed by MP for Sheffield Heeley Louise Haigh and local community members.

The M17 bus connects communities across Lowedges and Jordanthorpe Health Centre and is a service that Louise Haigh MP campaigned long and hard to secure in 2019. The service was cut earlier this year, but it has now been restored with a new operator.

The 10/10a bus connects communities across Gleadless Valley and Nether Edge to hospitals and neighbouring communities. Again, this service was cut earlier this year but has been restored thanks to campaigning from local residents and the community.

Louise Haigh MP for Sheffield Heeley, said:

“I’m delighted to see that the 10/10a and M17 buses have been restored and are back on our streets, but our public transport service is still in a difficult position. South Yorkshire has not received the level of funding it needs from Government and too much power and decision making is still in the hands of private bus operators.

“We should not be in this position, and our public transport system should not be beholden to private operators, making decisions about which routes, and services should run, often cutting passengers off.

“A Labour government will reform our bus networks for passengers. We will end the broken system and hand power and control to local communities. This will be the first step in the biggest reform to the bus sector in a generation and put communities firmly back in control of services they depend on.”