Sheffield councillors call for free bus travel for young people after successful Barnsley pilot
Rival motions by Labour and Green councillors supporting free bus travel were discussed at a full meeting of Sheffield City Council yesterday
Last updated 6th Feb 2026
Sheffield councillors want to follow the example of their colleagues in Barnsley and introduce free bus passes for children and young people – but up to the age of 22.
Rival motions by Labour and Green councillors supporting free bus travel were discussed at a full meeting of Sheffield City Council yesterday (February 4).
The outcome of the debate is that the council is asking for the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to consider running a free bus travel scheme for children and young people aaged up to 22 years.
Labour called for Sheffield to be next in line for free bus passes for children and young people aged up to 18, following a hugely successful pilot scheme in Barnsley, partly funded by SYMCA.
The Greens put in a proposal to extend that to 22. This is in line with their national policy, which was announced in Sheffield last month by the party’s leader Zack Polanski.
The Labour motion, proposed by Coun Janet Ridler, congratulated Barnsley Council and South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard for introducing the MiCard scheme in August 2025. She described it as “a bold step”.
“The results have been remarkable because under this short period of time, over a million journeys have taken place, made by young people in Barnsley,” said Coun Ridler.
She said the scheme has benefited the environment by cutting car journeys and has lightened the financial burden on families who are struggling with the rising cost of living.
“It’s opened doors for Barnsley’s children and young people, removing barriers that had once held them back,” said Coun Ridler. She said that 63% of the bus journeys have originated in the town’s most deprived neighbourhoods.
Coun Ridler said that Labour is committed to improving public transport, mentioning South Yorkshire’s move to bus franchising in 2027 and welcoming the announcement of the Northern Powerhouse rail scheme.
Seconder Coun Karen McGowan said that the scheme would be a big boost for young people in south-east Sheffield who have to travel across the city for sixth-form studies as there is no local provision. This puts a huge financial burden on their families, she said.
A LibDem amendment was moved by Couns Ian Horner and Mike Levery. It called for the Mayor of South Yorkshire to reinstate the £2 bus fare cap and condemned the government for “failing to support a Liberal Democrat amendment to the Railways Bill which called for a network electrification strategy”.
Coun Horner criticised the Northern Powerhouse rail scheme as “something that sounds fine but is not going to happen for 10 years.
“Rackety old trains are not going to be replaced for 10 years. The electrification scheme is not going to be seen for 10 years.”
Coun Levery said that five years ago school buses were removed, causing overcrowding on bus routes and meaning that children have to cross busy roads.
A Green amendment urged that the free bus pass should be extended to the age of 22.
Mover Coun Marieanne Elliot said: “We’re calling for more ambitious targets. The age from 18 to 22 is a really key time for young people seeking independence.
“It is so hard for people to earn a decent wage, continue education and have a social life with friends. That’s why buses are especially important for young people.”
Seconder Coun Malekei Haybe argued: “Public transport is not a luxury. The Labour motion stops at 18 – we say go further, up to 22.
“The Barnsley pilot is a good start and I welcome it. If we truly believe in social justice and opportunity, let’s not have any half measures.”
Reform Coun John Booker criticised “the cost of lockdown – a disastrous decision taken by the Tory government – then a double whammy by the Labour Party with the jobs tax and net zero taxes, pushing hard-working British people into poverty”.
He said that Labour would have to stop shouting about Reform UK and Nigel Farage and concentrate on Peter Mandelson, who he described as “a classic Bond villain, allegedly giving state secrets to an American convicted child abuser”.
In her right of reply, Coun Ridler responded: “It is clear from across the chamber that is is a shared ambition, amongst the majority of us anyway, to make public transport more accessible and to support young people and to reduce the cost of travel for families in Sheffield.
“However, I do find it staggering that a Reform councillor supposed to represent Stocksbridge and Upper Don stands up and says nothing about buses in his tirade, which is such a critical issue in the ward.
“Although maybe it’s not such a surprise when you think that only back in December he was the only councillor here to vote against developing plans for the tram extension to Stocksbridge, which is the ward he is supposed to represent, so not particuarly delivering for the ward there, as you might expect.”
The LibDem amendment was passed by a vote of 42-33, except for one paragraph.
It said: “Since 2022, Liberal Democrats have called for free bus travel for members of Sheffield Young Carers group as part of amendments to the Council budget and that Sheffield Labour councillors have voted against this amendment every year.”
Labour and LibDem councillors abstained on the vote, which was 17-0-58, thereby allowing the Green amendment to stand.
Labour’s motion, as amended, was passed 75-0.
The Green Party’s own motion was proposed without discussion later in the meeting because there was no time left for a debate. A Labour amendment, which said that increasing the age from 18 to 22 would “significantly increase the cost”, was accepted unchallenged.
However, the version of the Green motion agreed by councillors still called for the mayoral authority and the council’s transport, regeneration and climate policy committee to consider a scheme to run to the age of 22.