South Yorkshire Mayor praises Supertram staff for a Superclean

Oliver Coppard, the South Yorkshire Mayor, has recently visited the Supertram depot at Nunnery Square to thank staff for their efforts in the deep clean which has taken place since the network came under public control again in March. This “Superclean” has included both tramstops and trams and was part of the SYMCA commitment to improve the network earlier this year.

Investment has come from the Mayor and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to enable this work to take place with the aim being to create a cleaner network that makes journeys more pleasant for passengers.

Oliver Coppard said: “My ambition is nothing less than a world class public transport network for South Yorkshire. But we won’t just get there with big strides, it’s also about the small steps.

“Now we have the tram network back under public control, we are putting people and passengers right at the heart of our plans, and that means getting the basics right. So, we’ve now brought in a new team that will help us clean the trams, stops and facilities, to make the experience of travelling on our network just that little bit nicer.

“Our new team – including Dave and Steve who I met recently – are central to my ambition and approach for South Yorkshire’s Supertram, and I’m really proud to have them onboard for that journey. Please do look out for them on the network and say hello if you see them!”

As well as the deep clean – which has seen years of ingrained dirt and graffiti removed – SYMCA is investing more than £33 million in the network with fare evasion down and revenue up. New handheld ticketing machines have been introduced for conductors and there has been a trial for more trams to run at peak periods.

Now all tramstops will get a daily visit as part of a continued maintenance programme with a monthly deep clean whilst track litter is also being picked. Meanwhile, all trams have a nightly cleaning programme and over the coming months passengers will see more new tram seat covers being rolled out.

Longer term and there remain plans to refurbish all trams by March 2027 and it is hoped that there will be a new fleet of trams rolled out by 2032 (subject to funding).