Sheffield Chamber’s Transport Forum holds first meeting

Sheffield Chamber relaunched its influential transport forum following disruption caused by the pandemic.

The forum has relaunched both in response to the current bus crisis and in acknowledgement that the economy of the region will not be able to grow without strong transport provision.

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “Everyone in South Yorkshire has the right to affordable, reliable and accessible public transport which gets us to the shops, to work and helps us see our friends and families.

“I’m committed to building the transport system our region needs and deserves, so I very much welcome the new Regional Transport Forum.

“The Forum will provide valuable business insight on transport issues and I look forward to working closely with its members over the coming months and years.”

In June, Mr Coppard announced that the region’s bus services would be cut and in September the Peel Group, owners of Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA), announced that DSA will close to commercial passenger services on 4 November 2022.

The forum will focus on information exchange; advocating active travel; championing achievable ‘quick wins’ with immediate impact; and creating a space for the business community to tackle these issues.

The initial meeting identified a number of small changed to immediatley be made, including changes to the marketing of bus travel.

The forum hopes to focusing on making the region a better place by collaboratively driving change in the region’s transport system.

Sam Chapman, senior vice president of innovation, co-founder of The Floow and co-chair of the Transport Forum, said: “We have defined clear goals that we want to achieve in the next 12 months.

I look forward to being part of it, working with strategic organisations across the region and driving positive change forward for all.

“We will play a meaningful role in the enhancement of a transport system that is safe, reliable, clean, green, and affordable.”