Hillsborough | Sheffield Green Party

In the ongoing disaster that is South Yorkshire’s bus services, I welcome all efforts by the Mayor, Oliver Coppard, to fight for better funding. The previous Labour mayor, Dan Jarvis, massively underachieved in building, or even protecting public transport infrastructure.

In Hillsborough, the frequent and well-used 52A service now goes no further than Hillsborough Interchange. It has been replaced by the unreliable, hourly, 31 through to Wisewood and Loxley with no evening or Sunday service. Similar changes have happened to many services across Sheffield and South Yorkshire damaging the economy and people’s lives.

Now, with South Yorkshire’s Bus Services Improvement Plan receiving no government funding in 2022, there’s not only a huge public transport funding gap between the South and the North. There’s a growing divide between northern regions too and South Yorkshire faces yet more cuts.

Lessons can be learnt from other councils to help fund public transport. A workplace parking levy in Nottingham has raised almost £90 million over the last 10 years which has been re-invested into sustainable transport across the city. Green Party proposals to explore this in Sheffield continue to be blocked by Labour and Lib Dem councillors.

We must get buses back under local control. Dan Jarvis dithered before finally starting the legal process in March 2022, the last month of his 4-year term. Greater Manchester begins to get services back into public control this September. It’s going to take time in South Yorkshire and the Mayor must work hard to secure the funding needed for a successful transition when it finally happens.

The Tory government has created an appalling system that pits regions against each other. It causes great economic and social problems for those areas that lose out. We have no choice but to radically improve the quality of our funding bids and negotiation skills with the Government. But we also need to reverse a decade of tax cuts for the rich to properly fund all public services, including a public transport system in meltdown.

Find out more about the Green Party’s vision for transport in Sheffield and South Yorkshire here www.getsheffieldmoving.org

Councillor Toby Mallinson, Hillsborough Ward Green Party

Toby Mallinson with window poster saying "I support my postie." — Toby Mallinson, candidate for Hillsborough

Senior bosses at Royal Mail have just been hauled before a Parliamentary Select Committee. Their report outlined that the company had “systematically failed to deliver” the universal service obligation to deliver letters, prioritising more lucrative parcels instead.

You may be experiencing this in your household. We’ve been talking to posties who tell us that previous full staffing has been replaced by a new system with inadequate staffing that now requires 15% overtime to cover all rounds. It’s impacting Hillsborough, Stannington and Walkey in my sorting office area and deliveries on your road could now be entirely reliant on staff doing enough overtime.

These roads are sometimes seeing no post for a week and then it all arrives in one bundle. One customer told us they had posted a letter to themselves first class in desperation to test the system and were still waiting for it a week later.

We’ve been told that Royal Mail got behind in Sheffield during the snow and ice in December and has yet to get back on top of deliveries under this new system which management know does not work.

Current strikes in public services are not just about pay. They are about long hours and poor working conditions leading to demotivated staff delivering poor service to customers. Strike votes are reaching the required threshold backed by massive public support as union membership soars. Even headteachers have indicated a willingness to strike.

Please thank your local postie for keeping things going despite the incompetence of Royal Mail’s management. They want the failings of the new systems to reach management at the highest levels so please submit a complaint via their website if you need to.

We also need the government to recognise the need to properly fund public services and pay staff adequately for the valuable jobs they perform on our behalf.

Toby Mallinson

Council election candidate, Hillsborough Green Party

Find out about your election candidates here.

Tag: Hillsborough

We must get buses back under local control.

Why post is not arriving in Hillsborough, Walkley and across the city.