SHEFFIELD’S "WE Want Our Buses Back" campaign is preparing to support
bus drivers as they are get ready to strike over a 1.8% pay offer from a
company (First) that increased fares by nearly 50% last year.
Calvin Payne, Sheffield
So far this year there have been no further fare rises after the
public reaction to the massive increases last year, which led to the
formation of our campaign.
The Labour council, the local Lib Dems as well as the Green Party are
all united in a policy of pressuring the government to allow a system of
partial regulation, like that in London.
But almost everyone that we meet on our activities realise only too
well that privatisation and de-regulation must be reversed and not just
tinkered with.
Members of the campaign attended a meeting hosted by leaders of the
South Yorkshire Public Transport Executive (SYPTE) last week and
listened to presentations from the people who could make decisions about
fares and routes if the council gets its way. We heard our public
transport representatives extol the virtues of car-owning and defend the
private operators!
The meeting congratulated its secretary on receiving an MBE and
passed a motion of thanks and best wishes to the outgoing boss of First
South Yorkshire (forced out by public demonstrations and anger at fare
rises).
So we, at least, are under no illusions about whose side the SYPTE
are on! The highlight of the secretary’s comments were when she declared
that she believed in creating ‘First Class’ sections on buses to attract
the well-off to public transport(!)
Suggestions from our members that there should be lower fares for
low-paid workers and the unemployed were ignored.
The meeting pushed the campaign to greater efforts to create the
public pressure to force local and national politicians to re-regulate
the buses.
We are preparing massive support for the striking workers against the
bosses and fat-cats of First Mainline.
