SOUTH Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard unveiled the new brand for buses in Barnsley this week - and the vehicles will be ‘molten orange’ in homage to the region’s history of grit and resilience.

The ‘once-in-a-generation’ transformation of public transport is backed by £1.5bn of investment and comes as different modes of travel begin to return to public control.

Improvements to buses, trams, trains and e-bike schemes are planned - including free travel for under-18s being extended from Barnsley to Sheffield and then across the rest of South Yorkshire by 2027.

From next year, the ‘South Yorkshire People’s Network’ brand will appear on the buses that come under South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) control.

Bus franchising will start in Doncaster and Sheffield in September 2027 before coming to Barnsley and Rotherham by 2029.

Mayor Coppard said: “Transport isn’t just about getting from A to B.

“A proper public transport network gives people real freedom and choice about how they travel and move, connects people to opportunity and opens up new horizons.( “But public transport in South Yorkshire has been broken for too long.

“I promised to make change happen, to give South Yorkshire back the world class public transport system we once had, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”