Andy C

You've put a damn good Lowedges festival on for many years in the past and can be proud and confident to call yourself and your team serious event organisers, the community is lucky to have you personally championing this. Every event big or small can be a learning curve each year so feedback on smaller details shouldn't be taken as criticism! Excellent to see there will be an event in 2024!

The details of the amended services over the holiday period have now been published at https://www.travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-GB/LandingPage/Christmas. It is similar to previous years. Operator specific information including last departures on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve: Stagecoach Yorkshire: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/yorkshire/festive-services-in-south-yorkshire-and-chesterfield Stagecoach East Midlands: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/east-midlands/christmas/christmas-timetables Stagecoach Supertram: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/news/yorkshire/2023/december/christmas-and-new-year-tram-service-information First bus: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/sheffield/news-and-service-updates/updates/christmas-and-new-year-bus-services-20232024 National Rail: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ In summary: normal service up to Saturday 23 December Christmas Eve, Sunday 24 December: The normal Sunday timetable but with an early finish Christmas Day, Monday 25 December: no services Boxing Day, Tuesday 26 December: Selected bus routes running in Sheffield during the daytime. Bus services are operated under contract to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. Trams will run to Halfway, Meadowhall and Middlewood until around 8:30pm. No trains. Twixtmas, Wednesday 27 to Saturday 30 December: Saturday service New Years Eve, Sunday 31 December: The normal Sunday timetable but with an early finish New Years Day, Monday 1 January: A Skeleton bus network operated under contract to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority will run in Sheffield in the daytime only. Trams will run to Halfway, Parkgate, Meadowhall and Middlewood in the daytime between 8:30am and 6:30pm. Modified weekday timetable on the trains. COACHES: National Express: https://www.nationalexpress.com/en Megabus: https://uk.megabus.com/ Flixbus: https://www.flixbus.co.uk/ SUPERTRAM

You are right, the key is planning and communication - we all know Lowedges will be busy with parking all over on festival day and there will be some disruption, the benefits to the community of such an event taking place outweigh the negatives of the travel disruption, just need to make sure that SYMCA and the bus operators are aware in advance so if felt necessary they can plan diversions and tell the passengers beforehand as this will minimise any issues.

Great news, well done to all involved and I look forward to seeing the announcement!

Indeed, details at https://sheffieldfc.com/public-consultation Also part of this is the proposal to redevelop the existing Sheffield FC ground in Dronfield with a new housing estate on the site between the Coach & Horses pub and the railway line.

Good to hear Lowedges festival could be back, on its full scale it was a brilliant event, however even smaller fun days are good for the community getting families out together enjoying the attractions. Not sure where the traffic comment has come from, the issue I recall with Lowedges festival was the volume of badly parked cars associated with the event that meant buses could not get through Lowedges. This is something that really should be planned for, however that plan could be simply talking to the bus companies and having a pre-arranged diversion of the 25 Bradway bus via Greenhill Parkway instead of Gervase/Lowedges Road that is advertised to passengers in advance, you can take the view that the minor inconvenience of walking from a slightly further away bus stop is outweighed by the positives of the event taking place. This is an easy issue to plan for and certainly isn't a show stopper. As for the new stadium proposed at Meadowhead, one for the planning process... public consultation events are coming up, see https://sheffieldfc.com/public-consultation

It was a Derbyshire County Council initiative using Bus Service Improvement Plan funding, the same as other improved evening/Sunday services such as on the 218 Sheffield to Bakewell via Totley and the 44 Sheffield to Chesterfield via Coal Aston. The introduction of the Peak Sightseer open top bus tour was a BSIP supported initiative too and that has generally been seen as a success I believe. Whilst Derbyshire generally have promoted bus initiatives on their patch, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority don't seem to do the same in Sheffield. As you say, I wonder for example if the people of Crosspool realised they had more than just the 51 into town? Our local politicians don't seem to be interested in promoting or supporting bus travel, they just want to loudly shout that buses are rubbish and would be better if they were in control of them rather than those horrible private companies (whilst not doing a very good job of the bits they are already responsible for!) People seem to vocally complain such services don't exist but then don't support them when they are tried.

I assume you are talking about the directional signage on the railway station rather than the information provided by Supertram at the tram stop... those vinyls on the railway station date back to when the station was run by East Midlands Trains, part of Stagecoach, when the trams were still every 10 minutes Blue/Purple combined. The station is now run by EMR, part of what was Abellio UK, who haven't changed/removed them since they took over the rail franchise and station. which tram stops still have timetables from September 2022? All the ones I've seen have been updated in the last month with the 29 October timetable change and 1 November fares change.

Timetable change to bus 257 from 2 December includes withdrawal of the recently introduced evening service - guess nobody actually used it. If people don't buy tickets then such services aren't sustainable. The 257 runs from Sheffield Interchange and Moorfoot to the University of Sheffield, Broomhill, Crosspool, Yorkshire Bridge, Bamford, Hathersage, Grindleford, Calver, Baslow and Bakewell. Currently the last bus of the day departs Sheffield at 23:30 Monday to Saturday. https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/transport-roads/public-transport/news-notices/bus-service-changes/forthcoming-changes-to-bus-services.aspx

Most of the big companies are offering joining incentives to already qualified drivers, the whole industry has been struggling with driver shortages since the double whammy of Brexit and Covid.

Impressive given the 11am bus was cancelled... You may well have seen the late running 10:30am bus passing through around that time though... https://bustimes.org/services/218-bakewell-chatsworth-sheffield/vehicles?date=2023-11-03 The 1540 is a school bus from Lady Manners School near Bakewell, that appears to have run late https://bustimes.org/services/218-bakewell-chatsworth-sheffield/vehicles?date=2023-11-03#journeys/498472851

In the case of Waverley, there is indeed that road the 73 uses so yes, that box is ticked, however of course when people bought houses there the bus service wasn't really that comprehensive and a good proportion of the development are large family homes. Waverley is one of those awkward locations to serve well by bus. It is out on a limb and the demand is all over the place - Rotherham, Meadowhall, Sheffield and random other places. The 73 runs once every 75 minutes to Rotherham in one direction and a long way around to Sheffield via Handsworth and Manor Top in the other direction. If residents walk out to the border road there is an hourly X54 Harthill to Sheffield via Handsworth/Parkway an hourly X74 Meadowhall to Sheffield via the airport business park, both of which are daytime only.

In my opinion we are trying to fix a problem here that isn't really a problem - or at least not the most urgent one. For example, since the council closed Pinstone Street / Leopold Street which had the flagship bus stops for some routes, the council still hasn't built the replacements and we are now 3 years on. Those buses are now still forced to use temporary stops with no facilities in unpleasant/unsuitable locations on Arundel Gate and Rockingham Street, both of which were supposed to have had investment under the council's "connecting Sheffield" consultation.

A reminder that the bus and tram timetable changes happen tomorrow.... All the details with new timetables available to download as PDFs: https://www.travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-gb/newsupdates/service-changes. Also don't forget you can track buses live on a map at the independent bus times site here https://bustimes.org/districts/263, this also shows scheduled times for all stops (note at those stops that aren't timing points the times are estimated). There are some ticket changes from 1 November. - The flat fare for children aged 5-10 and Zoom card holders aged 11-17 which is subsidised by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority increases from 80p to £1 after being frozen in price for many years. - The flat fare scheme for Zoom Beyond card holders aged 18-21 subsidised by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Authority as a trial, comes to an end after two years. Cards will still be issued however, with some operators offering promotional fares to card holders on a commercial basis. First and Stagecoach buses will offer a £1.50 flat fare, Supertram will offer a £2 flat fare. - The maximum single fare cap on buses subsidised by the governement continues to be £2. However the fare cap on Supertram subsidised by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority increases to £2.80. Shorter tram journeys will be £2.40. - Various other Supertram fares will increase, see their website for details. - Those currently taking advantage of a cheap flat fare that is increased or withdrawn that travel on a regular basis may now find that a daily, weekly or 28 day unlimited travel pass will offer better value for money. More information: SYMCA Young People's concessionary fares https://www.travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-gb/news/9d04d236-c1b8-4ba0-b386-5e71e4cc7bd3 Supertram ticket prices https://www.stagecoachbus.com/news/yorkshire/2023/october/fare-changes-from-wednesday-1-november Travelmaster unlimited travel tickets accepted by all operators: https://www.sytravelmaster.com/

The problem we have in South Yorkshire is because planning policy and roads is the responsibility of the local council but public transport is the responsibility of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, there is no joined up thinking with the councils not taking much interest in public transport. This leads to planning permission being given to huge estates being built with roads that are not accessible to buses. Really the developers should be required to include a public transport plan as part of the design they submit, build a road designated as suitable for a bus route and if necessary provide start up funding for a bus service that is already running when the properties go on the market.

I would say the main reason Sheffield Interchange isn't well used is the location not being where passengers want to travel to/from - it is fine for connecting with National Express coaches or trains but it isn't anywhere near most of the shops, offices, nightlife etc. As for refreshments at Hillsborough, around the tram stop area there are 3 pubs, a coffee shop and a chippy! I'd also argue that London Underground stations are less pleasant places and have less facilities! You also don't see many staff on an Underground station other than someone supervising the ticket gates. The difference is, in London the service frequency is generally quite high so you are just turning up and getting on an imminent departure, whereas using a Hillsborough or Crystal Peaks example you might get on one of the regular trams from Sheffield Centre out to Hillsborough or Crystal Peaks but then find a long wait for a bus which might be a rural service that operates hourly or less.

Full details haven't been confirmed but the two projects announced in our area are to open existing railway lines to passengers - Stocksbridge to Sheffield Victoria and Sheffield to Chesterfield via Barrow Hill. It is quite possible the two will be linked together to run Stocksbridge - Deepcar - Wadsley Bridge - Neepsend - Sheffield Victoria - Darnall - Woodhouse - Beighton - Renishaw - Barrow Hill - Chesterfield with a new station built at Nunnery Square to interchange with tram services. As for how many would use it that is a good question given how buses in Stocksbridge have struggled to be viable over the years, however the advantage this proposal has is a faster journey time and better reliability than by road. In my opinon though to maximise its potential it does need a park & ride facility at the Stocksbridge end and good connectivity with the local bus and tram network both in Stocksbridge and Sheffield City Centre. Of course the Wicker area does have plenty of buses for those alighting at the former Victoria station!

The fare changes mentioned are those schemes subsidised by the South Yorkshire Mayor Child under 11 and Zoom card (11-16 and 16-18 yrs) holders - subsidised flat fare up from 80p to £1. Various weekly or monthly passes are also available which may prove better value for regular travellers. Zoom Beyond card (18-21 years) holders - this trial scheme has had its funding withdrawn and the 80p subsidised flat fare is no longer available. Stagecoach bus, First bus and Supertram will still offer a discounted flat fare for card holders - £1.50 by bus and £2.00 by tram. On other bus companies the adult fare will apply - max £2. For regular travellers a weekly or monthly pass may be better value. Mayor's fare cap on tram - the maximum fare promotion funded by the mayor is increased from £2 to £2.80. Some shorter tram journeys will cost less than £2.80. In some cases a daily, weekly or monthly pass may be better value. Government funded fare cap on bus - this was due to increase from £2 to £2.50, however the Prime Minister has since announced it will remain at £2 until December 2024.

In summary... the following buses have cuts/changes to evening and Sunday services following changes to the contracts let and funded by the South Yorkshire Mayor: 1 - High Green to Jordanthorpe 1a - Chapeltown to Herdings 2 - Sheffield to Barnsley 7 - Ecclesfield to Crystal Peaks 8 - Ecclesfield to Birley 11 - Sheffield to Herdings 18/18a - Sheffield to Hillsborough via Norton, Gleadless and Meadowhall 25 - Bradway to Woodhouse 30a - Hallamshire Hospital to Plumbley 41/42 - Sheffield to Frecheville and Crystal Peaks 56 Wybourn to Nether Edge 57/57a Sheffield to Stocksbridge 73 Sheffield to Rotherham via Handsworth 81/82 Stannington to Dore or Millhouses 83 Chapeltown to Fulwood 86 Lowedges to Chapeltown 88 Ecclesfield to Bents Green 207/208 Sheffield to Whiston and Rotherham X5 Sheffield to Dinnington X54 Sheffield to Harthill The following buses have an evening and Sunday service introduced thanks to funding from the South Yorkshire Mayor 9a Sheffield to Manor Top via Darnall The following buses have minor route and/or timetable changes 2a Sheffield to Park Spring 10/10a Manor Top and Hallamshire Hospital circular 24 Lowedges to Woodhouse 30/X30 Hallamshire Hospital to Crystal Peaks and Harthill 43 Sheffield to Chesterfield via Dronfield 50/50a Sheffield to Chesterfield via Eckington 52 Woodhouse to Crookes 52a Woodhouse to Hillsborough 135 Chapeltown to Rotherham X30 Sheffield to Harthill The following new routes are introduced commercially 43a Sheffield-Lowedges The following routes have an improved service with support from Derbyshire County Council 44 Sheffield-Chesterfield (evening and Sunday journeys extended through to Chesterfield) X17 Sheffield-Chesterfield-Matlock-Wirksworth (new evening journeys added Sheffield-Chesterfield) The following route have improved service provided on a commercial basis 120 Fulwood to Halfway (extra evening trips Fulwood to City at the weekend during University term time) The following routes are changed after no longer being commercially viable but replaced with support of Derbyshire County Council 80/80a Chesterfield to Crystal Peaks via Killamarsh The following Supertram timetable changes are also planned Minor changes to the times on Sundays on the Blue and Yellow routes. Also worth a mention - improvements to Derbyshire buses earlier this year 218 Sheffield to Bakewell via Totley now has an evening service 257 Sheffield to Bakewell via Crosspool now has an evening service 272 Sheffield to Castleton via Ecclesall now has a later last bus on Fridays and Saturdays. More information including timetable downloads... South Yorkshire https://www.travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-gb/newsupdates/service-changes Derbyshire https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/transport-roads/public-transport/news-notices/bus-service-changes/forthcoming-changes-to-bus-services.aspx

The new timetables are now in operation. Links for more information below: PDF timetables for public bus services: https://travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-gb/journeyplanning/timetable-search Information on travel to school: https://travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-gb/journeyplanning/school-travel Upcoming service changes: https://travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-gb/newsupdates/service-changes Check scheduled bus times for a specific stop and track buses live on a map: https://bustimes.org/districts/263 Travelmaster tickets offering unlimited travel on all bus, tram and train operators in South Yorkshire: https://www.sytravelmaster.com/

In other news, whilst Bradway (and some other areas) still have no buses at all in the evening, I've noticed that on weekdays Totley gains a bus just after midnight on weekdays and Lowedges gains a later last 76 on Saturdays, although this appears to be at the expense of Jordanthorpe which sees the last 75 run at an earlier time. The more interesting changes are of course to come in October - beginning of October sees changes to more of the Derbyshire County Council tendered services whilst the end of October sees the new contracts for evening/Sunday services tendered by South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) come into force, this is expected to be cuts.

None of the coach companies - National Express, Megabus or Flixbus - operate direct Sheffield to Manchester services (there may still be some via Leeds). NX used to do a few trips a day that called at Stocksbridge but that never returned after Covid. I guess the route doesn't fit with the budget model of following motorways and also probably cannot compete with the train - the faster trains can get you to Manchester in under an hour, they run half hourly from early until late and there are quite reasonably priced tickets available if you book in advance. As for the Hulleys X57, it catered for a variety of markets - Sheffield to Ladybower/Derwent, which the 257 still provides, Glossop-Manchester and Sheffield-Glossop/Manchester. Passenger numbers were variable, but the comments from Hulleys suggested the biggest thing that killed the route was the Snake Pass regularly getting closed, often without warning. They had buses getting to Yorkshire Bridge to find the road closed or buses diverted via Woodhead running non-stop Sheffield-Glossop bypassing most of the passengers! After the X57 ended Hulleys used that resource to make improvements to their service 257, which now provides an hourly service Sheffield-Broomhill-Crosspool-Yorkshire Bridge-Bamford then on to Bakewell Monday to Saturday whilst on Sundays it runs Sheffield-Yorkshire Bridge-Fairholmes all year round with extensions in the summer, currently to Glossop and Castleton (part of this is under contract to Derbyshire County Council). September sees further improvement to the 257 with the introduction of an evening service Monday to Saturday. Most of the other September changes seem to fall into one of three categories - School bus contracts commencing for the new school year - Extra journey time added to allow for increased traffic congestion when the schools return (however no extra resource available to add so the frequency has to reduce as a consequence) - changes to the evening services (some of which are actually improvements to the times of the last buses!) The new PDF timetables produced by SYMCA are on the Travel South Yorkshire website https://travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-gb/newsupdates/service-changes The new timetable data is also now loaded into the bustimes.org website - https://bustimes.org/districts/263

yes, lots of positive developments in Derbyshire!

Last 257 from Sheffield is currently 17:30 and the last 272 from Sheffield is currently 21:20. This follows on from improvements to the 218 Sheffield to Bakewell via Sharrow, Totley and Baslow, the last bus is now 21:40 (was previously 18:41). Evening services on these routes are funded by Derbyshire County Council, who successfully bid for government funding for their Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), unlike South Yorkshire.

All the information can be found at https://travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-gb/newsupdates/service-changes#sheffield for public buses and https://travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-gb/journeyplanning/school-buses for school buses. FIRST BUS CHANGES FROM 3 SEPTEMBER IN SHEFFIELD 1a – Timetable change to improve punctuality 11 – Timetable change to improve punctuality 18 – Timetable change to improve punctuality 20 – Timetable change to improve punctuality 51 – Timetable change to improve punctuality 75/76 – Timetable change to improve punctuality 81/82 – Timetable change to improve punctuality 95/95a – Timetable change to improve punctuality 97/98 – Timetable change to improve punctuality 272 – Timetable change to improve punctuality - an additional service will operate between Sheffield and Castleton at 23:00 on Friday and Saturday only. (for the new timetable for this route visit the Derbyshire website https://derbysbus.info/) X1/X10 – Timetable change to improve punctuality X5 – Timetable change to improve punctuality School services no longer operated by First: 608 - Service to be operated by Keats from 4 September 2023 616 - Service to be operated by Keats from 4 September 2023 627 - Service to be operated by Coopers from 4 September 2023 629 - Service to be operated by Keats from 4 September 2023 654 - Service operated by Cawthornes from 4 September 2023 as X54 School services to be operated by First from 4 September: 725 - New school service operating from Prospect Road, Bradway to Meadowhead school 751 - Service to be operated by First from 4th September 2023 752 - New school service operating from Attercliffe Road to Athelstan school 787 - Short journeys on 782 between Grenoside and Notre Dame school renumbered to 787 ALSO - HULLEYS OF BASLOW... 257 Sheffield-Crosspool-Bamford-Hathersage-Calver-Bakewell As well as tweaks to the existing times a new evening service will be introduced Monday to Saturday. Last bus Sheffield to Bakewell 23:30, last bus Bakewell to Sheffield 22:25.