Town's 'hot buses' to be gradually withdrawn

Extra buses brought in to tackle overcrowding on routes across Barnsley will be gradually withdrawn over the coming months, under new transport plans.

The so-called "hot buses", introduced last year after a surge in demand linked to free travel for under-18s, will now run at reduced levels until the end of the school year before being phased out completely by July.

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) have approved a scaled-back version of the scheme to run for the next three months, having initially planned to axe the service at Easter.

A SYMCA report added that the gradual reduction is designed to avoid disruption during exam season while keeping costs under control.

At their peak, the extra buses were deployed flexibly across the network to prevent overcrowding and stop passengers being left behind at busy times.

Keeping the full level of support in place would have cost around £197,000 and was ruled out as unaffordable, while a faster withdrawal was rejected over concerns it could lead to overcrowding.

The cost of continuing the reduced service will be recharged to Barnsley Council, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.