PLANS to finally reconnect rural communities to neighbouring towns with more frequent bus services have been welcomed by an MP who said improvements are now ‘vital’ for cut-off residents.
Penistone and Stocksbridge’s Marie Tidball spoke in favour of the government’s landmark Bus Services Bill, including calling for urgent improvements to the number 21.
The service - which begins at Barnsley Interchange before making its way to Dodworth, Silkstone, Cubley, Penistone, Millhouse Green and Crow Edge - has been put forward as a key priority in the latest tranche of funding which has been secured from the government.
Through new powers to set routes, fares and services, communities will have a proper say in the essential services that they rely on, instead of routes and fares being left to private operators.
According to the MP, the constituency has had 53 per cent of its services cut in the last 15 years.
She said: “The new bill will finally end the Tories’ postcode lottery of bus services and I know the difference this will make to our area.
“The new powers over routes, fares and services will finally give communities the power to take back control of our bus services.
“Equitable access to transport connectivity is the golden thread that weaves our urban and rural communities together, that keeps our families and friendships close, and that ensures that people growing up and growing old across our constituency can fulfil their potential.
“I have already been cracking on to deliver better buses, helping my older and disabled constituents.
“These routes are a lifeline for our communities and I’m working hard with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and Barnsley Council to deliver better buses right across our constituency, with the number 21 being one of my top priorities.
“We need to secure urgent improvements to the number 21 serving Penistone, Dodworth and the surrounding rural villages which are some of the worst-served by poor bus routes in the country.”
The MP also highlighted the improvements for disabled people introduced by the bill, including requiring local authorities to improve bus network accessibility plans and making driver disability awareness training mandatory for the first time.
She added: “My constituents often tell me that they are left stranded, enduring painfully long waiting times due to unreliable bus services, and facing distressing situations such as toileting issues, missed NHS appointments or arriving late at school.
“This is the reality of failed bus services faced by many across my constituency as a result of the Conservative legacy.
“When I was growing up, our South Yorkshire transport system was the envy of the world, but 14 years of the Conservatives’ north-south transport divide and their broken promises of a London-style transport system for South Yorkshire in reality meant that my constituency lost 53 per cent of its bus services, with a paltry 38 per cent spent per head on our doorstep compared with London.”
