A molten orange, grey and asphalt black livery looks set to be seen across trams and buses in South Yorkshire as part of a new South Yorkshire People’s Network brand, recently unveiled by Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire.
The new brand is part of the Mayor’s Vision for the region’s new transport network, which will see not only trams but bus services (from next year) operated under the Mayoral Combined Authority. Its all part of it becoming “a joined up, sustainable transport system, that serves every community. One that’s reliable, affordable, welcoming and easy to use, and one that puts people at the heart of every decision.”
The South Yorkshire People’s Network will be built around six key principles:
- Freedom and Choice – connecting people to where they want to go
- Prioritising people
- Affordable
- Matching growth ambitions – creating jobs, opportunities and investing in communities
- Fit for the future
- Safe and easy to use
Oliver Coppard said: “Transport isn’t just about getting from A to B. A proper public transport network gives people real freedom and choice about how they travel and move, connects people to opportunity and opens up new horizons.
“But public transport in South Yorkshire has been broken for too long. I promised to make change happen, to give South Yorkshire back the world class public transport system we once had, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.
“That’s why we’re putting in a huge investment to fix our public transport system, backed by even greater ambition, so that we can build something that truly works for all of us across South Yorkshire; a real People’s Network.”
The new brand will first be seen across bus stops, shelters and interchanges, on frontline tram staff uniforms and on a new South Yorkshire People’s Network website, replacing Travel South Yorkshire by the end of the year. Then from 2027 it will appear on buses under SYMCA control, bus driver uniforms, across the tram network (including on the current fleet of trams and tram-trains), the Mayor’s South Yorkshire wide E-bike subscription service, and Sheffield City Council’s E-bike hire scheme.
Whilst South Yorkshire People’s Network will be rolled out as the overarching brand for the region, Supertram will remain as a sub-brand. The main change being the colour scheme.
As part of the announcement its also been confirmed that the following improvements/enhancements/changes will be seen on the tram and tram-train network:
- Magna Tram-Train station opening to the public imminently
- Refurbishment of stops and shelters beginning this year, as well as new bus and tram shelters with an iconic design that reflects the regions ambition and sets a new benchmark for user-led design, innovation and beauty
- Simplified tickets available on newly franchised bus services with new integrated tram and bus tickets.
- Exploration of tram extensions, supported by £7.5m from government to develop plans
Further ahead into the 2030s:
- Rotherham Gateway railway station and tram stop
- A full fleet of 25 new trams
- Expansion of the tram-train network
The way the brand shows up across the entire transport network is still being finalised and SYMCA wants people to help shape this. There will be opportunities for the pubic to provide feedback to help guide improvements and support more reliable journeys for everyone.
The new colours have apparently been chosen as a nod to the industrial routes of the region: steel, coal and the kind of Northern grit that keeps the area going.
What a load of old nonsense! Grey, black and orange. No doubt designed by some over-paid design consultant. Why not simply reintroduce the old PTE ‘coffee & cream’ or the midnight blue and cream from the trams and buses in pre-PTE days, when Sheffield really DID have a decent public transport service?
I also note that the very expensive consultation that was done a couple of years ago has been completely ignored. The public stated they didn’t want tramway extensions, nor did they want a new fleet. They simply wanted the current service to continue with the current vehicles. Something that should be easy, given that Supertram was originally sold to the people of Sheffield on the premise that trams have a lifespan 3 times that of a bus. Blackpool was actually used as an example at public meetings back in 1990!
If the mayor actually wants to do something useful, what he should do is scrap the city centre CAZ and stop paying for buses from 2 different operators that chase each other on the same route up and down City Road.
Sorry, but things move on. Any public meetings happening in 1990 using Blackpool as an example of trams’ longevity is totally irrelevant. At that time most of Blackpools’ fleet would be approaching 53 years old and had years of patch and mend modifications or rebuilds (and in the case of Coronations daily use, complete life expiry) because they were ‘old school engineered’ and could be tweaked, modified or rebuilt (OMOs ?) ‘as required’. That cannot happen quite as easily with new build trams as technology moves forward much faster making adaptation harder, if not impossible.
You state that the general public didn’t want a new fleet of trams. No offence to anyone but what do the ‘general public’, in general, know?
The original Siemens Duewag trams, now approaching 32 years old, cannot be modified to operate the Tram Train routes as they lack the relevant Network Rail safety systems and crashworthiness. The new City Link vehicles are now almost 8 years old, and as there are only a handful of them, the authorities now need to look towards enhancing the fleet as the original trams are near life expiry.
Parts availability and the maintenance of these units will undoubtedly get more challenging and expensive as time rolls on. Look at Manchesters’ T68s, West Midlands T69s and the Tyne and Wear Metro units, gone, and going.
Regarding colour schemes, we can’t keep living in the past. Great that acknowledgement is given to anniversaries and past history by applying ‘heritage liveries’ like they did to Sheffield 120, but keeping a fleet looking modern is key to making public transport, visually at least, more appealing.
The Coronations were long gone by 1990!!! And they were not retired because they were life expired, they went early because they were a liability.
The coffee and cream was probable the most disliked livery we’ve ever had in South Yorkshire and I don’t think blue would have gone down well with Doncaster and Barnsley. The new orange livery has been received favourably at least in Sheffield.
Tangerine trams for Blackpool would be very appropriate….
No they wouldn’t
Buses 10 years, trams 30. The Trams will be 34 this year. Eaxctly what was said! they will be 38 when the new fleet arrives c.2030. The public might want the current vehicles but if they are becoming worn out they don’t really have a choice!