Louise Haigh MP has spoken about how the Labour Government’s transformative plans will deliver better buses for Sheffield Heeley, by providing £17,686,432 in funding to South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.

The investment has been designated to enhance popular routes, protect rural services and increase bus use for shopping, socialising and commuting. It will help prevent service reductions on at-risk routes and improve punctuality, to bring an end to the current postcode lottery of unreliable services.

Totalling £955 million across England, the funding represents a record level of recent investment for bus improvements for the majority of areas, alongside once-in-a generation reform to deliver London-style bus services to every corner of the country.

Under the Conservatives, bus services in England’s regions outside London collapsed, with thousands of bus services cut, and almost 300 million fewer miles driven by buses per year, since 2010. Across South Yorkshire, alone, bus miles declined by 34.56%.

As part of this investment, the way funding is allocated has been reformed. The reforms will allocate funding based on need and will end the Conservative’s wasteful system of competitive bidding for funding, which wastes resources and delays decisions.

This funding announcement comes alongside the Government’s plans to deliver the biggest overhaul to the country’s bus services in a generation, and call time on four decades of failed deregulation.

The Labour Government is expanding the power to take back control of local bus services to every community, and is speeding up the process of delivering public control of buses by removing barriers to bus franchising and public ownership.

The funding announcement is the latest stop on the Government’s journey to better buses, with a new Buses Bill to be introduced to Parliament in the coming months.

Commenting on the announcement, Louise Haigh MP for Sheffield Heeley, said:

“I am delighted to confirm £17,686,432 of new funding for bus services in my constituency and across South Yorkshire.

“People in Sheffield Heeley are tired of unreliable, infrequent buses holding them back from opportunities after over a decade of neglect. Buses are the lifeblood of our communities, but the system is broken. Too often, passengers are left waiting hours for buses that don’t turn up – and some have been cut off altogether. “This Labour Government is reforming the system to deliver better buses across the country, ending the postcode lottery, and ensuring everyone has access to reliable services. This funding boost is another crucial step on that journey.

“This is part of our wider plan to put passengers first and give every community the power to take back control of their bus services through franchising or public ownership.

“By delivering better buses, we’ll ensure people have proper access to jobs and opportunities – powering economic growth in every corner of the country.”