Doncaster mayor calls for government to fund Sheffield trams as public ownership plan is approved

Sheffield’s Supertram service will be taken under public control after plans were approved by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) board.

From March 22 2024, the service will be operated by an arms length company on behalf of the regional authority.

The service is expected to lose around £6.3 million in its first year, which will be subsidised by across the region.

Funding to cover the loss will be taken from the South Yorkshire Transport Levy, which is paid in by each of the region’s local authorities.

It was revealed in November that renewal of the tram service for 30 years will cost £596 million.

£100 million of this has been sought from the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) awarded to the region by central government.

The remainder will be sought “from government grant” which could include part of the indicative £1.45 billion available in CRSTS2.

Discussing the plans, Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones said:

“Government have repeatedly indicated that they expect the tram renewal to form part of the transport future of South Yorkshire, and the Department for Transport expect the tram renewal to be funded though the monies they have already allocated to us through CRSTS 1 and 2.

“I hope the government will think again and provide direct funding for tram renewal as they have for the mass transit in West Yorkshire with the allocation of 2.5bn through Network North.

“This funding for mass transit comes on the back of the government’s decision to allocate them over 77 million in bus service improvement plan funding, whereas in South Yorkshire we received only 6 million.

“My views on the trams are well known, however I do accept that they are beneficial for Sheffield and Rotherham, so once again I call on the government to provide the specific funding for South Yorkshire tram renewal.”

The mayor has stated that each authority will get its share of CRSTS2 funding even if it is used for tram renewal, sharing her aims to use it for bus improvements in Doncaster.