‘Begin bus franchising within 100 days’ - TUC Conference calls on new South Yorkshire mayor to act on buses

Unions have today (Sunday) called on all South Yorkshire mayoral candidates to commit to beginning the statutory investigation into public control of the region’s buses within 100 days of taking office, if elected.

The call comes as trade unions from across Yorkshire & the Humber met in Hull 23-24 April 2022 for the Yorkshire & Humber TUC’s Annual Regional Conference

The vote in favour of the 100 day pledge passed unanimously. It was taken after a policy motion to the 74^th Yorkshire & Humber TUC Annual Conference this weekend followed a similar vote in 2021 which led Tracy Brabin, the new mayor of West Yorkshire, to begin the bus franchising process (issuing the statutory notice of intent) just 50 days after she was elected.

Union delegates representing bus drivers, transport workers, NHS staff and passengers across South Yorkshire took part in the vote.

Conference is the highest policy making body of the trade union movement in Yorkshire & the Humber, setting the political and policy direction for trade unions for the year ahead, and governs how the regional TUC lobbies MPs, mayors and local politicians.

TUC Better Buses campaigner Gareth Forest said:

“Unions have spoken with one voice today. Our demands are clear: its high time we took South Yorkshire’s buses back into public control.

“We’ve had a bus review, we’ve had an informal assessment from the South Yorkshire Combined Authority. Bus drivers and passengers need a decision, and they need it fast.

“The new mayor could kick off their term by taking bold action on the most pressing issue this region faces – our crumbling transport infrastructure. Trade unions looking forward to working closely with the new mayor on fixing our transport crisis.

“The private model has failed. Now is the time to act for people, not profit.”

Motions calling for a 100 day deadline to begin the bus franchising process in South Yorkshire

• Motion 05 ‘Yorkshire deserves more than this transport betrayal’
• Motion 21 ‘Better Buses: Bring out bus services into public control’
• Both votes were passed unanimously. The full text of the motions can be accessed here: https://www.tuc.org.uk/conference-papers-yh