First Bus, one of the main Sheffield Bus Operators, has announced another increase in travel fares for students and young people, directly impacting your finances.
The bus operator, which operates 88 routes in the city, currently allows schoolchildren, young adults and university students to travel on a student single ticket- a reduced rate compared to the normal adult fare which is capped at £3 per journey.
However, with a few days advance, First Bus announced on the 28th of August an increase of prices for student single tickets to take effect from the 1st September this year, increasing the price by 30p per journey from £1.50 to £1.80 each way. This is a 20% increase per ticket. In addition, the Student SY Week ticket increased to a similar rate, now costing £19.00.
In an official statement, Labour South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard, stated his disapproval of the price hikes and that it was the wrong decision.
“Let me be clear, I’m deeply disappointed to hear that First Bus has chosen to hike fares for young people, and with barely any notice”
“At a time when I’m working hard to open up opportunity for our young people, though schemes like our Barnsley Micard pilot, First is heading in the opposite direction”
“What’s worse, they gave us almost no warning, and even less to passengers. That’s simply not good enough”
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First Bus in Sheffield
From 1986, South Yorkshire Transport, a newly formed private company, was the primary bus operator in Sheffield for over a decade, running iconic buses like the classic red and yellow coloured Mainline bus service. Sold to its employees in 1993, the company was eventually bought for £29.7 Million by First Group PLC in 1998 and rebranded to First South Yorkshire.
First South Yorkshire and Midlands now operates over 330 buses on 88 bus routes within Sheffield, holding a duopoly over the city’s Bus service franchise contracts, along with Stagecoach, the other main bus operator.
First Bus operates on routes near the university, such as the 120/120K, which runs between Endcliffe/Randmoor, the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, the SU/University and the city centre, which is a common trip for many first year students, as the most direct transport link between the accommodations and campus.
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Why is this important to students and your finances?
Since 2022, bus fares have increased dramatically for students and young adults. The Zoom card, introduced in 2021, originally capped bus fares at 80p per trip, making this extremely affordable for students. However, since then bus operators have been increasing the prices, with First Bus increasing prices in this period by 125% from 80p to the recent £1.80, and Stage Coach by 112% to £1.70 per student ticket.
This has unfortunately caused additional financial concerns for already financially pressured Sheffield students.
In a recent survey, 100% of students stated they felt negatively when asked about the price hikes. One student commented “As someone who uses buses every day, the price increases puts even more pressure on my finances.”
“30p is not much, but it soon adds up.”
Some students have even been found to be considering alternative forms of transport.
In that same survey, 40% of students interviewed stated they would consider using a taxi service, such as Uber, instead of public transport. With Uber starting from £3.34 in Sheffield, some students are finding that ease of travel, convenience and reliability is better value for money, despite being more expensive.
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What has First Bus said about this?
When contacted for comment, First Bus South Yorkshire’s Head of Commercial, Ste Brito-Coll, provided ForgePress exclusive statements regarding the bus fare increases.
“Our student fares have not changed in Sheffield for almost two years, and remain competitive with other operators.”
“The decision was not made lightly, and we are committed to keeping fares as low as possible while continuing to invest and manage increases in our costs.”
Regarding the short notice of the changes, a consolatory message was provided.
“We work closely with our partners and local transport authorities and usually share details of changes with them far in advance as possible, but recognise this time we fell short”.
“We’ll be learning from this and will ensure communication is improved”.
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What has the Students’ Union said about this?
When contacted for comment, no statements were able to be gathered from the Students’ Union or any elected officers on the bus fare changes.
With students on summer vacation, the student council yet to be elected until October, and the SU President position currently vacated, the poor timing of this has highlighted a potential leadership weakness within student advocacy for financial security and in local community decision-making, which may need addressing this semester.
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The future of buses in Sheffield
Due in part to successful recent student pushes, led by former SU president Daisy Watson, South Yorkshire Labour Mayor Oliver Coppard committed to bringing Sheffield buses under public control once franchising contracts are up for renewal in 2027.
When asked about the bus fare rises, the Mayor remained committed to this promise.
“South Yorkshire deserves a real public transport system – with the emphasis on the public”
“That’s why I’ve started the process of bus franchising, to bring our buses back under public control.”
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What can students do in the meantime?
Previously, in 2023, when the Zoom card increased its price from 80p to £1.50, a large coordinated effort from the Students Union, Hallam University’s Students Union and SYYCA was mobilised right away.
The coordinated email to the Mayor of South Yorkshire, documented in an in-depth feature by ForgePress in 2023, requested the repeal of the price hikes, which while unsuccessful at the time, clearly demonstrated the student community’s willingness to stand up against cost-of-living increasing policies.
An option like this remains open for students upon their return to their studies in September.
