“There’s no F in bus!”

90 year old Mrs. Lee brought the house down, well Sheffield council chamber that is. “No shop, no post-office, no pub … and no bus service for two years!” She described how the elderly and disabled tenants on her Darnall estate had been made virtual prisoners in their own homes. “They’ve (First Buses) taken away all our freedoms” she said to applause from the public gallery.

Earlier, samba band Rhythms of Resistance and Insurgent Rebel Clowns had added colour, music and humour to the lobby of the February council meeting called by the “We Want Our Buses Back!” campaign. The clowns’ banner “There’s no F in Bus” reflects the feelings of thousands of passengers in Sheffield who are fed up of waiting for buses that don’t turn up or services that have been cut or changed. A pensioner from Arbourthorne, where the No. 6 bus has just been cut said “I’ve lived on this estate for 70 years. Hitler couldn’t stop our bus but Brandon Jones (South Yorkshire First commercial manager) has!”

Presenting a further 2,300 signature petitions, WWOBB convenor Calvin Payne asked “ 2 months ago the council passed a resolution supporting re-regulation. What’s happened since then? First have cut or changed more services without any public consultation!” He read out a letter from government Transport Minister Karen Buck which showed how wedded New Labour are to the private bus operators like First. “Its going to take more than a resolution to get your government to change policy!”

With rumours of another fare rise in April (there’s been four in just over a year) and the possibility of a busdrivers strike over pay, WWOBB plans to step up its campaign to force First out and pressure the council to get the powers and finance from central government to take our buses back into public ownership and control.