BARNSLEY’S main bus operator has defended its record after services’ punctuality, reliability and cost came under fire at a council meeting.

At a recent full council meeting, Councillor Jake Lodge - who represents the Worsbrough ward - urged cabinet members to hold operators to account having claimed residents had lodged complaints with him about local services.

In response, cabinet member for environment and highways, Coun James Higginbottom, said feedback gathered is relayed back to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) about both councillors’ and bus users’ concerns.

However, Stagecoach commercial director John Young this week hit back at the claims.

“Whilst not specifically naming Stagecoach, as the main operator in the town we felt duty bound to comment and provide some evidence of our latest performance figures,” he said.

“We recently reported that our service reliability - meaning the percentage of journeys that ran - in Barnsley was 99 per cent.

“Despite the challenges of unpredictable traffic congestion and other delays that exist in any urban environment, our punctuality of buses running on time or no more than five minutes late was 86 per cent.

“Punctuality for the last six months, covering the most challenging time of year from September through to February, was 85 per cent.

“Our entire local team in Barnsley work incredibly hard to make sure that you can rely on buses to get you where you need to go.

“Our range of fares remain competitively priced to ensure that we can continue to offer value for money.

“Many of our single fares remain below the £3 national bus fare cap, whilst day and week tickets offer substantial savings.”

However, despite Stagecoach’s official statistics, users’ reviews on Trustpilot reported lateness, delays and no-shows, amounting to 88 per cent of almost 3,000 users rating their experience as one star out of five.

Stagecoach - facing Barnsley’s bus franchising plan by 2028 - had indicated previously that they neither supported nor opposed the public ownership model.

The move will cost SYMCA £25m to transition to the new franchising system over the next three years.

Under the proposal bus companies will no longer be able to run the services they choose but will have to bid for specific contracts set by SYMCA.

Over the last decade there has been a steep decline in the number of buses operating in South Yorkshire, with a 42 per cent fall in the number of route miles covered by services.

Mr Young added: “We always encourage our customers to get in touch if they have any issues or concerns - customer feedback helps us to further improve our service.

“Just last year, we received awards in no fewer than three categories at the UK Bus Awards - that is the kind of achievement we hope that our local communities can be proud of.”

Matthew Topham, who represents the We Own It bus campaign group, said he often heard from passengers with complaints.

“South Yorkshire is at a crossroads: strive for excellent bus services or follow the path of least resistance.

“People have told me that their boss has said if they are late to work again they will be fired when it’s no fault of their own - the current bus system means that they can’t get to work on time.

“People also say the cost of multiple bus fares for a single journey means that it’s actually getting so expensive, even with the £2 fare cap, that they can’t get to college affordably.

“It cuts down these opportunities for healthcare, education, work that we need to be building up if we’re going to have a thriving area.”