SOUTH Yorkshire Supertram is back under public control after 27 years of private operation following the end of Stagecoach’s contract to operate the light rail network serving Sheffield.
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) is now managing the network through a new company called South Yorkshire Future Trams Limited.
“We’ve always owned the tram, but for most of the last 30 years it’s been managed and run by Stagecoach,” says South Yorkshire’s mayor, Mr Oliver Coppard. “Bringing the tram back into public control is a down-payment on our ambitions for a different type of transport network in South Yorkshire; one that puts the needs of our communities first.
“It does come with risks, but it is the right thing to do, because if we want to build a bigger, better economy, to make sure people have the opportunity to move about our region quickly and cheaply, to take traffic off our roads, then we need an effective, efficient mass transit network.”
Initial improvements include a 10% discount on some fares for the first 100 days of public operation, a new Supertram App and website, a programme to deep-clean shelters at stops, and a review of the timetable to better meet demand. A public survey has also been launched to obtain ideas on how to improve the service.
It is planned to refurbish the fleet of LRVs by March 2027 and to have a new fleet in service by 2032. Last week, SYMCA submitted a case for investment to the British government.
SYMCA is studying whether the network can be expanded by introducing a tram-train service on the freight line from Sheffield to Stocksbridge and south to Chesterfield.
In the longer term, SYMCA would like to see local bus and rail services integrated with the light rail network. “For 30 years we’ve seen and felt the consequences of our public transport network being run by private operators who have failed to run our buses and trams in the interests of our communities,” Coppard says. “We are now starting to dismantle that system.”
