nohands

I would suggest contacting the Council. Enclose a photo and explain the history and hopefully they will remove them.

I saw this a little while ago. The chap was blowing dust from the tram tracks mainly onto the passengers on the platform. He was in a Stagecoach van, so I presume it is not the council.

The issue is that there is an investigation as a result of allegations from a former officer. The investigation by Kent Police has not reported its findings. SYP were aware of this at the time of her appointment. The presumption is innocent until proven guilty, for themselves at least.

One issue would be that there is a PCC for South Yorkshire. It would be difficult for that postholder to manage a police service covering a wider area. There may be problems at SYP but would structural change be any better than importing another Chief Constable?

They have had Kat Cowan on in the afternoons. Big improvement for me over Paulette who I think is like a primary school teacher patronising her listeners. As for Toby, I am not a big fan but do think he does a good job.

Of course Stagecoach need the extra money following the recent case (March 16) where they were found to have been involved in "a clear case of tax avoidance" (HMRC). This would have taken £11m out of public funds.

The changes seem to make the season tickets less attractive compared to singles. Rounding the fares should speed up boarding. Of course there is a limit to how much they charge at the moment as their tickets need to be cheaper than the Citybus tickets.

Is tram 120 back in service? Thought I saw it last night, as it is the one in Sheffield colours. This might ease the problems. Alternatively I might need my eyes testing.

It is not just politicians who are at fault. SYPTE were saying that there were too many buses and that complaints would disappear after 2 weeks. They had a chap called David Young who suggested he knew best and that it would all blow over. Not heard from him recently. Where were the politicians before the services changed? Probably looking at the savings they could make. There were two choices; spread the old network more thinly or completely recast the network. They chose the latter option in the hope that this would be a more efficient use of resources. This has led to winners and losers, but probably more of the latter as there are fewer buses. However just thinning the old network would have just led to there being no winners. So overall it might have been the correct decision.

The MD of Stagecoach Yorkshire was on Radio Sheffield this morning talking about the issues. He accepted that there were problems and they were taking steps behind the scenes whilst working with their partners to look at some of the bigger problems. He came across as genuine and, whilst pointing out that there would still be some unhappy people, seemed committed to listening and making improvements. It made a refreshing change to that chap from PTE who suggested we would get used to it and that all was well. His attitude was dismissive and made me wonder what the point of the PTE is.

Thanks for your reply Andy. I don't think 6% per annum is cheap, but I appreciate you taking the time to put the counter argument.

[/color] So, in 2009, you say First charged £4 for a bus only day ticket. Now, in 2015, Stagecoach are charging £4 for a bus and tram inclusive day ticket. Doesn't sound like years of rip off increases to me. You seem to be deliberately missing the point. First received bad press for their high fares. Stagecoach came in and undercut them but has since increased their fares at an average of 6% per annum. This is much much higher than the increase in the cost of motoring. Are you paid by Stagecoach to defend them? Why do they keep increasing their fares? Are they trying to encourage people into their cars?

It's a fair point about the offer, but since the 58 was withdrawn people from much of Stocksbridge are forced to use the tram to get to town. Stagecoach charge a premium for this, which seems a bit unfair as it is an increased journey time, interchange anxiety and a wait in a less than inviting interchange. Stagecoach claim that the Supertram control room can see where the buses are to link up the tram and bus, but I have never seen any evidence of this. Stagecoach have increased their prices at over double the rate of inflation over the Last 8 years. Why? ---------- Post added 04-11-2015 at 12:19 ---------- I am glad to say I do not have all the data. The nearest I have found is that in 2009 First charged £4 and now it is £3.90. This followed a change in policy where they decreased their fares in 2012. Perhaps a better comparison is with motoring costs. In 2007 AA rate was 42.77 per mile for a mid range diesel based on 15,000 miles per annum. The 2014 rate was 47.49p. This represents a 1.6% increase per annum. Thus Stagecoach fares are increasing at well over triple the cost of their main competitor, the car.

Stagecoach have now removed the tram link from the tram only tickets. To show how they are using their monopoly position, the fare when Tramlink started in 2007 was £2.70; this week it is £4. This represents an increase of 48%, or 6% per year. Although very low now, inflation has averaged 2-4% during that period. This suggests that Stagecoach are using their monopoly position to make more money and the Sheffield Bus Partnership is a mechanism to charge passengers more.

Had a great night there last night; well done to all involved. Good beer, good music and managed to get a seat. Venue is excellent; went last year and it restored my faith in beer festivals having not been to one for years. Only downer was the tram. Ended up driving to the venue and will have to pick up the car today. What is it with Stagecoach trying to stop me going to beer festivals? The trams were not running normally for the 3 Rivers or Magna festivals and yesterday they had the smash.

Legally, that is all you are entitled to. The reply will state that the driver will be dealt with in line with the company's disciplinary policy. Employees have the right not to have their disciplinary records opened up to customers.

Indeed. The recent Regina v Starner case, concerning a woman who claimed to have been ejected from Primark, shows what can happen.

You seem to have trouble understanding subsidy. This is paid to benefit the users, not the operators. Bus, or indeed tram, operators should not make any more profit as a result of the payments for these passes, they should be paid for revenue foregone. The subsidy to run on Boxing Day is a Local Government decision. Bus operators who have bought their own buses are being paid to operate them on a day that they think they would not make a profit; that is the free market. Interesting that you think that the tram is not subsidised. I did not realise that the profits that it has made has covered the costs of its construction. Indeed the tram has fallen into the trap of describing maintenance of its track as an investment rather than a Business as Usual activity of replacing expired assets.

Don't believe them Andy, Stagecoach have form. There have been allegations in the North East (Rethinking the Welfare State, Whitfield p190), Scottish coaches (Motorvator v Citylink), Sussex in 1992 (Hansard 31/10/94), Preston in 2007 (Competition Appeal Tribunal) and most famously in Darlington where they ran buses for free until the council company stopped operating. Brian Souter, Stagecoach founder and anti Section 28 campaigner, has been an outspoken critic of attempts to re-regulate bus services in the North East, stating he would rather "drink poison" than accept a quality contract (Guardian 21/10/14). Stagecoach could have reduced the price of their bus and tram tickets instead of merely on Tram branded services, if this was purely a positive promotion.

Is this part of a Stagecoach strategy to undercut PTE all operator tickets? The recent bus "consultation" suggests that the PTE want to push people towards all operator tickets, which are about 10% more than single operator tickets. By undercutting these significantly Stagecoach will make them look less attractive. This may seem ungrateful, but I have become more cynical towards Stagecoach over the past few years.

You are right about the Sheffield proposal. Strange how things change. For the past 10 years or so, SCC has been providing lanes for these convoys of half empty buses. I would have thought that bus occupancy rates were higher than either trains or cars locally, certainly outside of peak times. Plus a few years ago, Stagecoach justified increasing the price of their bus/tram ticket by stating that electricity prices had risen, making a 10% premium over the bus only ticket. The European cities tend to have guaranteed connections. Stagecoach do not. Always amusing to see the meerkat impressions on the approach to Middlewood. Since they stopped the through buses from Stocksbridge, I have tended to use the car a lot more as I have just had enough hanging around at Middlewood.

I think having a direct bus to town is reasonable. SYPTE were describing their new regime as "Better Buses". Now they should be honest and admit that services are deteriorating under their watch.

The connection seems to have good and bad spells. To be honest, it was a lot more annoying when the trams were off. You could miss a connection three times in one direction, at Middlewood, Shalesmoor and Caatle Square. Since then I. Have almost given up on the tramlink. Last time I caught it, the old white bus they used could hardly make it up Carr Road.

Thanks for all the information you have given Andy, much appreciated. The problem with feeder buses is where the connection is unreliable. The TramLink to Stocksbridge is a good idea, but the trams seem to enjoy driving off when the bus approaches. Before the changes, I could catch a bus to Hillsborough in half an hour; now it takes 40 minutes to Middlewood and then another 5 minutes on the tram. Biggest problem is when you are heading for a train as you have to give it about 20 minutes longer than when it was a direct bus. Of course the experts withdrew the evening and Sunday through bus from Stocksbridge and told us to use the Tramlink just before the tram replacement works started. So overall, I would recommend making a direct journey rather than having interchange anxiety when you need to change.

According to Traveline, the trams are not back on the yellow route tomorrow, despite the Stagecoach leaflet stating that the works finish on 8th May. http://www.supertram.com/rr2015p5.html However, the tram connecting bus from Stocksbridge is reverting to the tram connecting timetable tomorrow even though the trams are not running. This means that to connect with the Y5, you have to catch the bus 20 minutes earlier. Typical Stagecoach. They really do are not making a good job of this.