Sheffield councillors 'considering costs' as pressure mounts for return of FreeBee bus

Coun Douglas Johnson said they were talking to transport bosses about options and considering the ‘sustainability and practicalities’ of the service.

He spoke out after new council leader Terry Fox said he wanted to see an electric FreeBee return to the city centre after helping to bring it in the first time.

Meanwhile 85.2 per cent of 351 respondents to a @HelpSheffield survey said they wanted to see a shuttle running every 10 minutes.

Coun Johnson is the leader of the Greens in Sheffield and one of three Green councillors on the authority’s ruling Executive in coalition with Labour, which has seven. He is also executive member for climate change, environment and transport.

He said: “We’re continuing to liaise with South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive to develop options on a city centre shuttle bus. The next steps are for us to work through the detail and consider all possibilities available to us, including the sustainability and practicalities of the service.

“We know many people are in support of reintroducing the Freebus in Sheffield and we are considering both the associated costs and timings of any proposal before final decisions are made.”

The Lib Dems have urged the Greens to deliver on their promises after winning seats in a power sharing deal with Labour.

In April, Coun Johnson said it would cost £1,080,000 to buy three new, electric vehicles plus £427,000-a-year to run them.