South Yorkshire People's Network

The branding design and name of the network were revealed by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority with a public event held in Barker's Pool in Sheffield city centre on 16 March 2026. The logo consists of a stylised letter "S" in orange on a white or dark grey background, depending on branding context. According to official People's Network branding documents, the "S" stands for South Yorkshire and the four perimeter lines which make up the stylised letter represent the main settlements of the region: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield. Additionally, the name alludes to the region's nickname of the People's Republic of South Yorkshire, reflecting its historically aggressive left-leaning politics. The primary branding colour of the network is described as "molten orange," reflecting the historic industrial heritage of the South Yorkshire region, such as the fires of industrial furnaces and molten steel. Secondary colours used across the branding are grey and "asphalt black," reflecting the region's coal-mining heritage. ==History==

During his 2022 election campaign for Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard pledged to establish bus franchising in South Yorkshire, on the basis that an independent audit had recommended it and following the implementation of the similar Bee Network in Greater Manchester. Coppard won the 2022 and subsequent 2024 elections, and subsequently commenced preliminary work into the establishment of a South Yorkshire integrated transport network. ==Bus franchising==

In March 2025, Coppard announced that he would bring buses back into public control, unified under the South Yorkshire People's Network brand. The local authority will purchase a new fleet of electric buses to replace the current fleet of diesel vehicles, which as of March 2026 had an average age across the county of 12 years. Upon the launch of the People's Network, it was confirmed that free travel for under-18s would be made permanent and be extended across the county from 2027. On 2 April 2026, the SYMCA opened the procurement process to appoint the manufacturer of the future fleet of People's Network buses. Tranche 1 The first phase of bus franchising under the South Yorkshire People's Network, known as Tranche 1, will consist of services operated out of Olive Grove bus depot in Sheffield and Leger Way bus depot in Doncaster, both operated prior to franchising by First South Yorkshire. These services prior to franchising had a daily peak vehicle requirement of around 400 vehicles. Services under Tranche 1 of the franchising programme are scheduled to transfer to South Yorkshire People's Network operation on 5 September 2027. Leger Way depot was already owned by the City of Doncaster Council and leased to pre-franchising operator First, so ownership was transferred from the council to SYMCA. The deal covering the transfer of Olive Grove from FirstGroup to SYMCA ownership was completed on 26 March 2026, and a programme of essential roof repairs at the depot was announced in order to allow the depot to safely house its planned fleet of more than 220 new buses. Leger Way depot is planned to receive a fleet of around 110 new buses. The first phase of bidding for the two Tranche 1 contracts opened on 2 April 2026 after the SYMCA issued the Procurement Specific Questionnaire and Invitation to Participate documents to prospective bidders. Potential operators are allowed to bid for both the Leger Way and Olive Grove contracts, but may only be awarded one of them. Tranche 2 The second phase, Tranche 2, will consist of services operated out of Rawmarsh bus depot in Rotherham and Wakefield Road bus depot in Barnsley, both operated prior to franchising by Stagecoach Yorkshire with a peak vehicle requirement of around 175 vehicles. Services under Tranche 2 of the franchising programme are scheduled to transfer to People's Network operation in 2028. Rawmarsh depot will be upgraded, with the construction of new office buildings on site to replace existing temporary structures. Tranche 2 contracts are expected to be developed in such a way as to allow small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be able to bid for them, alongside traditional larger national bus operators. Tranche 3 The third phase, Tranche 3, will consist of services operated out of the current Stagecoach Yorkshire depots at Ecclesfield and Holbrook and the current TM Travel (Wellglade Group) depot at Halfway, all of which are in Sheffield. Services from these depots have a combined daily peak vehicle requirement of around 200 vehicles. Services under Tranche 3 of the franchising programme are scheduled to transfer to People's Network operation in 2029. Ecclesfield depot will be upgraded, with the construction of new office buildings on site to replace existing temporary structures, and Halfway depot will be closed with services transferred to nearby Holbrook. Tranche 3 contracts are expected to be developed in such a way as to allow small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be able to bid for them, alongside traditional larger national bus operators. ==Commuter rail==

The initial People's Network planning documents committed to delivering South Yorkshire's portion of the wider Northern Powerhouse Rail project and integrating this into the county's wider transport network, providing upgraded railway stations, more frequent and reliable local rail services, and new rolling stock. Additionally, there will be collaboration with the equivalent Weaver Network in West Yorkshire and local authorities in East and North Yorkshire to deliver ''White Rose Yorkshire's Plan for Rail'' to strengthen commuter rail services across Yorkshire, and support for the government's plans to electrify the Midland Main Line as far as Sheffield. Ultimately, there are plans for faster, more frequent and more reliable services between South Yorkshire and Leeds, York and Manchester, which may be achieved by additional electrification of the local commuter rail network through negotiations with the state-owned Great British Railways. There are plans for the construction of a new station on the Sheffield–Lincoln line at Waverley, between Darnall and Woodhouse. This would serve the Advanced Manufacturing Park and the new housing developments at Waverley. As well as being served by Sheffield to Lincoln commuter trains, the new station may also be served by Sheffield to Chesterfield tram-trains on a new extension. Plans are also under development for the construction of a new Rotherham Gateway mainline station – potentially a reopening of Masborough station, or a mainline extension of Parkgate station – in order to provide direct services from Rotherham to London and reduce journey times between Rotherham and Leeds by thirty minutes. Both Doncaster and Sheffield stations will be refurbished and expanded to increase capacity and provide space for additional services across the region, and there are plans to support the introduction of a direct Barnsley to London rail service. ==Light rail and tram-train==

Following the expiration of the Stagecoach Group's tender to operate the South Yorkshire Supertram network, it came back into public ownership on 22 March 2024, initially operated by the SYMCA arm's length holding company South Yorkshire Future Trams. In future, the Supertram network will be integrated into the People's Network and receive the same molten orange branding on vehicles and tram stops, although the Supertram brand name will be retained. The decision to allow one "well-behaved" dog per passenger to travel on board Supertram was made permanent from October 2025 following positive feedback to the pilot scheme. Extension of the network Construction of a long-proposed new tram-train station at Magna commenced in March 2025, with SYMCA contributing £6.6million towards construction costs. The station will feature 100 car parking spaces as part of a park and ride scheme and will serve the adjacent Magna Science Adventure Centre when it opens on 9 April 2026, marking the first new infrastructure project to be completed under the People's Network banner. Plans are being developed for three initial extension projects of the Supertram network using either traditional trams or tram-trains. The first of these is a development of the long-running Don Valley Railway proposal and would see the re-opening of the former Woodhead line to tram-trains between the abandoned Sheffield Victoria station and Deepcar, with an extension from there into the centre of Stocksbridge. and the section as far as Deepcar was used by freight trains accessing the Stocksbridge steelworks from then until being officially mothballed in September 2024. On this reopened line, there would be stations at Sheffield city centre (Victoria), Oughtibridge, Wharncliffe Side, Deepcar and Stocksbridge, A second proposal consists of the conversion of the at-present freight-only railway line via Barrow Hill into tram-train operation. while all stations between Beighton and Whittington would be reopened former stations. The proposed scheme revives plans that were put on hold due to a government spending review in 2024. There is also a proposal under development for the construction of a second tram line across Sheffield city centre, which would extend directly to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital which at present is a more than 15 minute walk along a steep hill away from the nearest tram stop on the Blue and Yellow lines. New rolling stock The existing trams used by the Supertram network are a fleet of 25 Siemens-Duewag Supertrams constructed in 1992, supplemented by seven Stadler Citylink Class 399 tram-trains constructed in 2014 for the Parkgate extension. Regardless of the timeline of any network extensions and capacity upgrades that would require their own new vehicles, the entire fleet of Siemens-Duewag trams is expected to be replaced by new vehicles between 2030 and 2035. ==Other ventures==

Active mobility In 2025, Sheffield City Council announced that they would follow up £27million in investment in the city's cycling infrastructure over the preceding two years with the launch of an electric bicycle public rental system in the city from April 2026. Following the People's Network launch, this scheme was taken under the SYPN umbrella and the launch date pushed back to 2027, with the SYMCA providing £9million in funding to provide 900 e-bikes across Sheffield at launch. City of Doncaster Council subsequently announced their intention to take the airport into public ownership via a compulsory purchase. The purchase was completed in March 2024 with £3million of funding from the SYMCA, and Munich Airport International were appointed as the airport's operator. Following the launch of the People's Network, the airport reopening plans were brought under its umbrella, Longer-term plans are in place for the improvement of bus services to the airport after re-opening and the construction of a long-proposed railway station at the airport on a new spur line from the nearby East Coast Main Line. ==Notes==