I've just gotten a new job in Leeds, and was looking at the options - and I've discovered there's a regular coach service from Sheffield Interchange. I was wondering if anyone uses it and whether it is reliable (does it get to Leeds on time) or is the train or driving a better option?

It's pretty reliable, although recent timetable changes mean that to get to Leeds for 9-00hrs you need to get the coach that leaves Sheffield at about 7-30 in the morning. This gets you in about 8-40.

Coming back is pretty reasonable. They can get quite busy Friday evenings.

Trains - if you get teh fast ones, cool. If you don't, then you end up taking up to an hour and a half as opposed to the maximum estimated journey time of 1h 10m on teh coach.

Driving - if you can miss the peak rush hour, great! Otehrwise it's a bit stressful.

And parking in Leeds (unless your company has a car park) is no fun.

Joe

I used to catch the National Express everyday & it was very reliable, quick and comfortable!! If you are under twenty five you can buy a yearly travel pass for £10 which means you get 25% off of every journey... Wors out at around £3.50 return!

It takes around 50 minutes.

Coach is starting to sound quite promising! Do you need to book to get a seat or can you just turn up and pay like on a bus?

I used to take the National Express Shuttle service (number 70) from Meadowhall to Leeds many years ago, and it was a turn up and go service, so you couldn't book the seats in advance. Competition for seats was fierce (but not violent), so unless you turned up 15 minutes before the coach did, you'd be at the back of the queue, and potentially miss the bus (not fun).

Oh yes, the broadsheet readers sitting towards the back used to get tetchy when you asked if you could take the free seat they were sprawled across.

As Joe says, it's about an hour to get there on a 'good' day. However, on an infrequent 'bad' day, such as when we had the train strikes a few years back, this forced more vehicles onto the road, and the journey could take as long as two hours.

The coach service is cheap and reliable (although it used to go up by £1 every season) but if you miss it, you may be waiting a while until the next one turns up...

Edit - feel free to bring a personal stereo or mp3 player along for the journeys, but not a radio. Reception along the motorway was bloody awful! Oh yes, and for the sake of your fellow passengers' sanity, please don't have a naff mobile phone ringtone, either ;)

Nat EX is great. Its cheaper than driving in terms of petrol cost (well for my car anyway), its always on time setting off, and its as quick as the train and a whole load cheaper & comfier (you get a seat).
You can buy a ticket from the driver but this is the most expensive way at about £5.70 return, and some drivers are really mardy about it especially if its close to departure time as it takes a minute to do.
I work in leeds and have tried all methods and have settled on the Nat Express as the best. The 7.30 drops off at Leeds (Briggate) at between 8.30 and 8.50 depending on traffic and then goes on to the bus station (2 mins more).
I live in west Sheff so drive to Meadowhall and leave car there and get on coach as this saves me hanging around for a crappy rip off First bus in the morning and evening.
I buy a multi pack of ten tickets for £25. Valid for 6 month in either direction so it costs me £5 a day. You dont have to book a seat and dont need to either- there is always space going there, though very occasionally on the bus back its busy though i think thats the Bradford to Birmingham which picks up at Leedss and stops at Meadowhall n Sheffield on its way (5.40 from Leeds bus station).

You can turn up on the day and pay, but during busy times it's advisable to book in advance! It's a hell of a lot more relaxing than driving and it beats the train in terms of reliability.

A word of warning if you do decide to take the train - be careful which one you get on. Some are very fast (just over 1hr) but there is a service that I can only describe as the tour of Yorkshire that takes around 2 hours

trains
virgin takes 43 mins to get to Leeds. as with virgin products it's not as good as it seems, it's a long route (train often from bristol to edinburgh) hence if there's a sheep on the track in the midlands this will delay you. also in the mornings and after work, getting a seat is lucky and many people end up standing or coruching inbetween carriages.

apparantey there's a fast local one, takes 55 mins.

coach is OK, although if you buy a pass apparantley there's no guarantee of a seat so you have to get there early.

depends where you are working in leeds. if you need to get a bus somewhere, get the Nat express as it the interchange and bus station are the same place. train station is not far away, but a good 10 minute walk on other side of city.

The train is expensive we asked for the wakefield - Sheffield monthly season ticket last month and it was £120 a month !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's funny, I was just working out how much it'll cost to commute to Leeds today. 120 is still quite cheap considering a single open return from Sheff-> Leeds cost around 10 quid. So, monthly = 200.

5 pound something for the coach is quite reasonable actually.

I've found the coach good. I've never been left without a seat. It costs less than parking in Leeds for a few hours, it's usually quick and when it isn't I can at least take comfort that the journey would be no faster by car, and for me the times are more convenient than the train (though obviously that's not going to apply to everyone). Even the walk from the bus station to my destination is better than from the train station, through the arcades rather than along the clogged roads. You can buy tickets online, which you simply print out and take with you. You can probably do this on the day of departure (I've not tried yet - I tend to do it the evening before).

I used to get it, when I went to leeds Met.
If you book online, you can print out your ticket.... which is very useful.
Turned up on time, very handy.

Id use them again :thumbsup: