Campaigners gathered in front of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to call for a better bus system in the county on Tuesday afternoon.
Matthew Topham, member of the Better Buses for South Yorkshire, said: “We are looking to bring buses across South Yorkshire into public control.”
“We’ve got to keep showing that there is massive public support for this, and that there is real hunger to get it done.”
BBSY protested in the hopes of ‘franchising’ the bus system and demanded the introduction of ‘hopper fares’ in South Yorkshire.
What is a hopper fare?
A hopper fare is a £1.75 bus ticket which would grant unlimited journeys between bus routes and companies if the journey is completed within an hour.
Mr Topham, 24, said: “One of the big things is the current bus system is legally prohibited from introducing a hopper fare.
“The only way we can get this really, basic kind of ticket that every other European country has, is by bringing our buses into public control, it’s not just an ideological point of view, it’s an issue of bread-and-butter delivery.”
They were joined on the day by Act Now, a street theatre group that promote environmentally sustainable causes throughout South Yorkshire.
One of the members dressed in a rabbit costume to the protest, a reference to the group’s push to introduce hopper fares.
Richard Teasdale, the man in the costume, used rabbit-related jokes to make his point about how the county’s bus system needs to change.
Mr Teasdale, who is in his 50s, told ShefNews that the current bus system is not efficient enough.
He said: “It’s just not working, ever since privatisation, it’s basically got worse, we really need franchising.”
Franchising the business
Their slogan, ‘Franchising for Fair Fares’, was chanted throughout the streets, and emphasized the need for the South Yorkshire Mayoral Authority to have more input on how the bus system is operated.
Mr Teasdale gave a further explanation about what franchising South Yorkshire buses will mean.
He said: “It won’t be owned by the public and will still be run by operatives, but the South Yorkshire Mayoral Authority will decide what routes to put on and so on.”
“They really need to change the model totally and how they can deal with bus routes.
“It is being shown that the system works in London and Manchester.”
Mr Topham said of the protests: “It was fantastic. Act Now came and used the rabbit costume to make some jokes about the need for public control and for that kind of hopper fare.
“That was an exciting thing that got people involved and energized, we were really pleased to have that.”