Protestors claim bus companies are “gnawing like zombies” having failed passengers again by cutting essential routes across South Yorkshire.
This week marked the 37th anniversary of bus deregulation, when the government gave private companies the power to run their own bus routes and set their own fares.
On Tuesday, protestors dressed in Halloween zombie masks took to the streets of Sheffield city centre to protest outside the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, calling for the restoration of cut services.
（The Protest theme picture, Photo by Austin Zhang）
As well as protesters from Sheffield, there were a small number of protesters from Rotherham, Barnsley, and Doncaster. They said they were all “victims of transport failures in South Yorkshire.”
Martin Mayer, 69, one of the leader organizers, said: “Policies have to make sure that they are fast, frequent services to the public work. They were running services every 2 minutes in the past.
（Outside View of SYMCA, Photo by Austin Zhang）
“Can you believe it? It seems fantastic in the past morning! People could catch their buses at that time.”
It is reported that the night and Sunday bus frequency in South Yorkshire has been reduced to every two hours. After the meeting between operators and mayoral officials, a solution has not been made to cutting bus services.
“We need high-frequency services not just for people who don’t have a car or are dependent on buses, but also for people all of us here probably do have a car but do not use it!”
（The members of the group, Photo by Austin Zhang）
After a private company took over South Yorkshire Bus, the number of routes offered has reduced by 40% in the past decade, making many public transport routes disappear from public view.
In the interview, Dale LeFevre, 77, a protester, said: “The meaning for this action is we want these buses to come back; we need to let them know that there are still people who need these routes and that they are still useful.”