EXTRA buses brought in to tackle overcrowding on routes across Barnsley will be gradually phased out over the coming months as school and colleges close for the summer, transport bosses have announced.

So-called ‘hot buses’, introduced after a surge in demand linked to free travel for under-18s through the Barnsley MiCard scheme, will now run at reduced levels until the end of the school year before being phased out completely by the end of July.

Transport bosses from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) have approved an extra £121,315 to fund a ‘scaled-back’ version of the scheme.

Leaders say the MiCard - which allows young people to access free bus travel from Monday to Sunday, between 7am and 9pm, as long as the journey starts or ends in the Barnsley area and is within South Yorkshire - has had a huge impact on bus patronage in recent months.

A SYMCA report said: “A number of additional buses - ‘hot buses’ - are being funded to provide additional capacity to the local bus network in Barnsley to mitigate the risk of over-crowding or inability to board buses due to increased demand resulting from the introduction of the free travel pilot scheme.

“These hot buses have been deployed flexibly where and when over-demand is noted or anticipated by the two incumbent operators in Barnsley.

“Approval has been previously given to fund these hot buses until Easter 2026, with a subsequent reduction in the number of buses and an indicative exit strategy also noted.

“This report updates the position to confirm the exit strategy and requests approval for funding to continue a reduced service until full exit is completed in July 2026.”

As of February, more than 8,200 youngsters had received their MiCard and 1.27 million journeys had been completed.

However, with numbers expected to decrease over the summer holidays, the decision has been taken to reduce the ‘hot buses’ services, although the MiCard’s terms won’t be impacted.

The scheme was made possible thanks to a £5m investment from Barnsley Council, alongside an additional funding of up to £1m from SYMCA.

All local bus operators in Barnsley - including Stagecoach, Globe Holidays, South Pennine Community Transport, Hodgsons Travel, Chad Healey European, LL Travel and Wilfreda Beehive - are participating in the scheme.

Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, added: “We made a big step forward in relaunching MiCard in Barnsley and there are a million good reasons why we did it.

“The two-year pilot is one of the first of its kind in the country and after just a few months it’s already doing exactly what we hoped it would.

“It’s opening doors for young people, helping them to get to school, keeping bus services running and taking traffic off the roads.

“That’s why I’ll continue to work to bring back free travel for under 18s beyond that pilot, for the long-term, not just in Barnsley but across South Yorkshire.

“Our next generation deserve the best start in life.

“Giving them the freedom to get where they want to go is one simple but vital way we can give them that chance.”