GleadlessLad

I wonder then when the work scheduled for Shalesmoor last weekend will be "dropped" on us? Also see that the list of work on their webiste is very out of date & doesn't correspond to the copies posted at the tram stops...!

Supertram's website talks about "National Customer Service Week" (last week) & they state that, to celebrate this, they'll be launching a "month of activities".

Presumably these will include:-

"Guess The Date Of The Park Grange Rd Completion"

"Guess Which Other Part Of the Network Won't be Running This Weekend"

"Standing in The Rain Waiting For A 'Connecting' Bus / Tram"

"Being Thrown Around On B2 Every Morning As The Driver Keeps Slamming On The Brakes On Granville Rd"

"Spot the Satisfied Customer On The Blue Route" (difficult one that)

& - of course -

"Travelling By Bus!"

As you've probably gathered, after 15 weeks now of a "12 week" rail replacement - with no completion in sight - I am not happy!!

I just do not understand how they can get all of this so wrong. Any ideas?

A bit off topic but a fab article about how the trams used to be

 

http://www.thestar.co.uk/nostalgia/retro-fond-memories-of-city-s-super-trams-1-6103811

 

They've had problems from day one

 

---------- Post added 03-10-2013 at 09:01 ----------

 

Got on at Westfield today and at about every stop there was the recorded announcement saying replacement buses from spring lane. Got my hopes up they had finished early and back to the good old B1 service, but driver made announcement just as we got to gleadless. Sat on the B3 not getting anywhere fast

I get on at Gleadless Townend & get off at Granville Rd - must admit that B3 has been much better for me than the B1/B2 situation.

Not sure of what happened just after 7:30 this morning though? Usually at that time there are a couple of B3s waiting at the Townend stop, outside Rubeez & due out at 7:38. Tram from Halfway usually arrives just before 7:35. Gives the bus driver time to take fares etc & get off on time. However this morning the bus didn't arrive until 7:38 - a huge queue of passengers who'd got off the tram was straggled along the footpath. When B3 finally arrived there was then a 5 min delay while the driver checked /issued tickets.

Also one other morning this week we all got on B3 at Townend, only for the driver to apologise - after the bus was nearly full - & say he'd been given the wrong running order, the bus behind would be going out first & his bus wasn't going for another 10 mins! So we all had to get off & board the other bus.

Driver of B3 towards Townend yesterday afternoon (approx 17:00) was driving down Ridgeway Rd with one hand on the wheel & his left foot up on the dashboard!

they probably arent cycle lanes http://www.greatgasbeetle.com/when-is-a-cycle-lane-not-a-cycle-lane/

 

i got caught out by this at the weekend, wondering why the cycle lane was going to take me over the tracks at a dodgy angle.

I believe that the red surfacing on Park Grange Rd is there to warn car drivers to avoid those bits of road. Due to the need to then cross the tram lines at an oblique angle if driving on these parts of the road, which can lead to skidding / loss of control..!

I recall that there were a number of nasty accidents caused by this issue when the tram lines were originally laid.

As I was coming home from work on replacement bus B3 this afternoon two women - one of whom was saying that she lived just off Park Grange Rd - were discussing the progress. The "Norfolk Park" person said that she'd been told that due to the delayed progress the road wouldn't be open to trams until mid December!

Has anybody else heard this story?

The website advises that trams are not operating from Middlewood today due to 'adverse weather conditions'. What might they be?

Presumably it's "too hot" over at sunny Middlewood today (well, why shouldn't Supertram use the same limp excuse which they put forward for the circa 7 week over-run of the work originally timetabled for 12 weeks on Park Grange Rd)!

Oh dear they've cancelled some of the works - from the 'super'tram website:

 

Additional rail replacement cancelled

 

THE REPLACEMENT BUS SERVICES WILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE BETWEEN MIDDLEWOOD, HILLSBOROUGH, MALIN BRIDGE & THE CITY CENTRE THROUGHOUT SATURDAY 14 SEPTEMBER ONLY.

 

IN ADDITION WE ARE PLEASED TO ADVISE THAT THE FOLLOWING TRAM SERVICES WILL NOW ALSO OPERATE:

Saturday 14 September A FULL YELLOW ROUTE SERVICE WILL OPERATE.A REDUCED BLUE ROUTE SERVICE WILL OPERATE BETWEEN SHEFFIELD STATION & CATHEDRAL WITH DAYTIME SERVICES ALSO EXTENDING TO SHALESMOOR.

 

Sunday 15 SeptemberA NORMAL SUNDAY SERVICE WILL OPERATE ON ALL ROUTES (YELLOW & BLUE) WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE EXISTING WORKS AFFECTING PARK GRANGE ROAD AND HERDINGS PARK.

So how come they're running a replacement bus service to & from Middlewood on Sat 14th Sept - if a "full yellow route service will operate" on that day...? So presumably the good folk of Middlewood will be blessed with both trams & buses!

As I understand it, all B3s will be "stopping buses" & as such will go down Granville Rd instead of Duke St - though to be honest having travelled on B1s & B2s during the current case of affairs I don't think that this will make much difference to journey times.

My concern is that they must put sufficient B3s on at each advertised time (rather than just one double decker) at rush hour - so that for example I can get on a bus at Granville Rd / Queen's Rd when coming home from work, without finding that they all sail past "full". We'll see!

Staff were handing out "September Update" cards this morning, which state -

"Although the project is still on schedule to be completed within the timeframe originally set, the contractor has advised that some elements of the work have taken longer than anticipated. As a result, it is expected that the works on Park Grange Road will now be completed by the end of October."

Which "timeframe originally set" would that be, then? Presumably they're referring to the 5 year timeframe for full completion of all of the rail replacement work...?

Obviously the work on Park Grange Rd is the most disruptive operation within the 2013 schedule of works - "12 weeks from 1 July" now extended to 17 weeks...? Hardly "still on schedule" for this key element!

Apparently Supertram have also produced a helpful leaflet explaining the changes from 16 Sept - unfortunately though, the lady who gave me the above mentioned card at Spring Lane this morning said that she hadn't got any of the leaflets but there were plenty available on the trams. Of course I then found that there were none on the tram...

For the next two weekends - from "about" 20:00 on Fridays (Sept 13th & 20th) until the end of each Sunday - replacement buses will be running to/from Middlewood & Malin Bridge through to Spring Lane due to work at Shalesmoor. There is(!) a timetable on Supertram's website which indicates that B2 will be leaving town - for Spring Lane - in the evenings at the usual times i.e. 10, 30 & 50 mins past. This is helpful.

Additionally!

From Monday 16th Sept to Thursday 3rd Oct inclusive, at all times the replacement buses will be running to/from Gleadless Townend instead of terminating at Spring Lane (due to work at Spring Lane & Ridgeway Rd) - trams will be running between Halfway & Gleadless Townend instead of between Halfway & Spring Lane. Again, there's a timetable on the website - which states that B1 & B2 will both be replaced by B3 ("stopping bus") at all times during this period. This will actually be much better - for me - (as long as the buses are of sufficient capacity....) because I live at Townend hence won't have to wait for "connecting" buses & trams at all. In the evenings B3 will apparently depart from Castle Square for Townend at the "B2 times" of 10, 30 & 50 mins past.

In addition to the farce coming home yesterday evening, when I went in to town yesterday (via the 18:54 tram from Gleadless Townend) I & everyone else boarded the bus B2 which was waiting at Spring Lane with the engine running - driver & a female employee standing outside talking.

After about 5 mins the engine switched itself off. Driver still outside smoking. Then another B2 arrived & blocked in the B2 on which we were all waiting. Said driver & female employee went for a chat with the other B2 driver. After another couple of minutes the second B2 set off back towards town... leaving "our" B2, which was there first, still at the stop.

Why couldn't we have been told that another B2 was on its way & would be going out first? After a total wait of around 10 minutes "our" B2 finally set off - then stopped at Fitzalan Square for ages at which point I got off in disgust.

Coming home last night there was the now obligatory 10 minute wait at Spring Lane due to the bus arriving 10 minutes before the tram went out.

Also why do the majority of B2 drivers persist in the practice of slamming on the brakes every fifty yards when heading down City Rd & Granville Rd? Aren't they taught the "art" of progressive braking? Makes for an extremely uncomfortable ride on the way to work each morning. If I want to be thrown around I'll go to Alton Towers...

Text of my latest complaint to the PTE (copied to The Star) re. this evening's farce:-

Supertram's website indicates that a revised timetable is in operation for replacement bus B2 from 20:00 on Friday 6 September - due to rail replacement works at City Hall - until & including Sunday 8 September. The published timetable on Supertram's website indicates that B2 will leave Arundel Gate on the evening of Friday 6 September for Spring Lane at 01, 21 & 41 minutes past instead of the usual 10, 30 & 50 minutes past.

Having checked Supertram's website I boarded replacement bus B2 at 22:35 this evening on anticipation of a departure at the advertised time of 22:41. However I was extremely disappointed to find that the bus didn't set off until 22:50 i.e the usual time, not the time as advertised by Supertram on their website due to the rail replacement work at City Hall. I had also checked earlier in the evening with a Supertram employee that this work was going ahead.

This meant that a usual journey time between Castle Square & Hollinsend of 17 minutes (pre rail replacement work) took a ridiculous 40 minutes tonight, arriving at Hollinsend at 23:15. PLEASE CAN YOU SORT SUPERTRAM OUT!!!!!

Fri 30th Aug - on my way into town (early evening) I asked Supertram staff whether the replacement buses back to Spring Lane would be leaving town at the usual times - i.e. 10, 30 & 50 mins past each hour - due to buses running through to Malin Bridge / Middlewood as a result of weekend work at Shalesmoor.

Answer was that the buses would be running "on the 8". I asked for an explanation of what this meant & still didn't get a simple answer but eventually gathered that they'd be at 8, 28 & 48 mins past.

Got on B2 at Arundel Gate at 10:20 just to be sure - & it left just after 10:30... On arrival at Spring Lane there was a wait of over 10 minutes - in the rain - for the "connecting" tram (this is one of the few instances where the bus / tram usually connect!). This despite there already being a tram at Spring Lane when the bus arrived - everybody had to wait for a different tram, from Halfway, which then disappeared towards the points to come back up - 5 mins later... presumably after the staff had taken their obligatory "fag / coffee / standing around yakking while keeping passengers waiting for the sake of it" break.

At least there are staff there now on the first day on the sunday there was one inspector and one manager it was a farce not enough staff , however , now you cant move for them

(Not) nice of the Supertram staff to share their fags though - usually a gaggle of them standing round at the Arundel Gate stop & smoking like chimneys - with most of the secondhand smoke drifting through the open bus doors into the vehicle for customers to "enjoy" while enduring the usual long wait for departure...

Supertram are providing a very poor service here.

I usually make 7 return trips (14 journeys) each week via the tram between Gleadless Townend & Shalesmoor or Granville Rd.

The trams & "replacement" buses are usually timetabled not to meet up. Why? For example, when bus B2 arrives at Spring Lane in the afternoon, there's always a tram just disappearing round the corner on to City Rd towards Halfway. Why can't the tram wait for the bus passengers - who then have to stand & wait for the next tram. Going in to town in the evening, the bus always arrives at Castle Square about 30 secs before the blue tram leaves for Malin Bridge - passengers have no chance of getting across Arundel Gate & High St to board the tram which always leaves without them. Another wait. Coming into town in the evening from Hillsborough, the bus (every 20 mins) leaves Castle Square for Spring Lane 5 mins before the (every 20 mins) tram from Malin Bridge arrives at the same location. Farcical.

More engineering works, this time at Shalesmoor, this weekend - also for 2 more weekends in September. Supertram's website confirms that buses will run between Spring Lane & Hillsborough / Middlewood - but no timetable has been provided; will the buses be leaving town for Spring Lane at the usual times in the evening? Who knows? What a joke.

Rumour is that the "12 week project" on Park Grange Rd is running at least 4 weeks behind - allegedly they laid the wrong type of replacement rails so have had to take them up & start again. Well, they can't blame the weather, can they? So this may go on until (at least) the end of October?

This was bound to cause some disruption but in my opinion Supertram really have made such an incredible mess of this.... I keep contacting them (if folk don't complain, they won't have an opportunity to improve things) but all I get is the usual glib corporate response. Hopeless.

An elderly gentleman left the "Ship" pub & he was knocked down by a car outside - I was in the "Ship" at the time this happened.

Callippo, it isn't always safe to drive around our cities with the windows open - we do have car jacking crimes here! Would think I know more about our situation in the UK than you do. Also I never leave anything of value visible in my car - and incidentally we use good old British pounds here, not dollars as you seem to think....

Yes we do need air con here Callippo - we do have some good weather! Plus as I'm an eczema sufferer it's important that I'm able to keep cool (& therefore comfortable!) when driving on a hot day! Wouldn't buy another car without air conditioning now.

Exactly the same problem with my Astra - can of "Comma Air Conditioning Cleaner" about £10 works a treat. Just run the air con on "Max" (i.e. with the Recirculation button on) & discharge the aerosol inside the car - it has a lock type nozzle so you can leave it coming out while you stand outside!

After a few mins, you have nice clean air con. Really does work & lasts for ages. To help prevent the problem recurring you should always switch the air con off a few mins before you finish your journey but leave the fan blowing. This dries out all the vents etc which stops bacteria growing - which is the cause of the smell.

Hi Merlina - I remember Steve Jackson's perm - he taught Biology, didn't he! Mr Andrews had one too - as did "Hair Bear" Taylor - I think it was a trendy 70s thing!

I went there from Sept '77 to June '83. Remember the terrifying Mrs Livesey (Form Tutor / Maths Teacher), Mrs "Two Demerits!" Liddle (English), Mr Surr (Biology - amazing locust impression), Mr Potts & Mr Morgan (Games), Mr "Sally" Hughes (Music), Mr "Hair Bear" Taylor (Economics), Mr Bunn (English), Mr White (Maths - his son was the guitarist with ABC), Mr Damms (great English teacher with more than a passing resemblance to Chewbacca), Mrs King (gorgeous English teacher), Mr Miles (Geography), Mr "I'll punish you, I will" Williams (Maths), Mr Crisp (Technical Drawing - amazing ears, get hin on to the war and you wouldn't have to do any work that day), Mr Burgess (Art), Doc "Dick" (Chemistry) & Mr Andrews (Physics) - his perm made him have a permanent "Van De Graff Generator" look. To name but a few!

Presumably this might mean that Supertram passengers wouldn't be able to use the Sheffield Station stop then, unless they were catching a train? Would be very inconvenient for Supertram users like me, for whom this tram stop's the nearest one to work!

Hi, I assume that you mean the huge, windowless concrete edifice? It's an electricity substation.

Thanks "30andSexy" - but if this is the case then I still can't understand why this pub appears to have suddenly lost most of its customers. Many of the people who I've seen in there regularly for many, many years no longer go in. This was such a lively pub until very recently...

I believe that it's the old assay office, involved with hallmarking the silver items produced in Sheffield. Sheffield I think still has an assay office though not in the old building. After the assay office moved out I think the building was used by an organ manufacturer for a number of years.

Does anybody know what's going on at my local, the New Inn on Hollinsend Rd at Gleadless? Been going in there for 25 years, pub has always done very well & been busy until the last couple of months. Always nearly deserted now (even at 22:30 on Saturday!) and the formerly excellent beer's now really awful. I think it may have a new landlord who could be part of the problem? I don't think it's the smoking ban as that was nearly 12 months ago and didn't seem to affect trade here. Shame to see a good pub going downhill like this!