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Stocksbridge bus service. Why so dire?

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What has happened to the once very good and reliable bus service between Stocksbridge and the City Centre. Who would have ever thought that First actually provided a much better, and cheaper service than what we have now with Stagecoach.

 

What has actually happened for the 57/58 once every 10-15 minutes throughout the daytime, to now have been downgraded to 1 per hour and with the double decker vehicles replaced with smaller single decker vehicles at the same time.

 

Surely there is demand for the old 57/58 service to be reintroduced - but would it be used?

 

For those who currently commute along this corridor and are forced to having to change between the tram and bus at Middlewood, would a direct bus be more appealing than the current situation?

 

Be interesting to hear peoples thoughts on this.

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The bus companies appear to have lost site of what the purpose of their existence actually is, or SHOULD be, and that is to serve people in a reliable and convenient way, but no, they dictate to US how things are to be to suit THEM.

 

Sheffield's bus service in general is a shadow of its former self and on the whole a bit of a balls up.

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The purpose of bus companies is to maximise profits for shareholders. If they don't do that they go out of business.

 

Society doesn't exist. It's dog eat dog, shaft thy neighbour, Brexit austerity Britain. Get used to it.

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What has happened to the once very good and reliable bus service between Stocksbridge and the City Centre. Who would have ever thought that First actually provided a much better, and cheaper service than what we have now with Stagecoach.

 

What has actually happened for the 57/58 once every 10-15 minutes throughout the daytime, to now have been downgraded to 1 per hour and with the double decker vehicles replaced with smaller single decker vehicles at the same time.

 

Surely there is demand for the old 57/58 service to be reintroduced - but would it be used?

 

For those who currently commute along this corridor and are forced to having to change between the tram and bus at Middlewood, would a direct bus be more appealing than the current situation?

 

Be interesting to hear peoples thoughts on this.

 

The 57 has been reduced and reduced due to lack of patronage. If it isn’t commercially viable then it won’t run. It really is that simple, so no there is no demand.

 

 

Think yourself lucky though, I live in Wortley and we have two buses a day to Sheffield!

Edited by Hook

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But is that really the case considering the SL1/A buses are every 10 minutes and relitavely full. Just a case of Stagecoach being greedy and forcing everyone to pay twice with a change of mode at Middlewood - or pay for a more expensive bus and tram daily/weekly ticket.

 

If there was a choice for people, would people still do this or prefer a more direct and frequent bus into the city centre like the old 57/58 used to provide, that was my main question.

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But is that really the case considering the SL1/A buses are every 10 minutes and relitavely full. Just a case of Stagecoach being greedy and forcing everyone to pay twice with a change of mode at Middlewood - or pay for a more expensive bus and tram daily/weekly ticket.

 

If there was a choice for people, would people still do this or prefer a more direct and frequent bus into the city centre like the old 57/58 used to provide, that was my main question.

 

It’s an extra 30p for a day rider bus and tram - hardly expensive. And if the 57 was commercially viable it would still operate. Stagecoach Yorkshire have also pulled SL2 for the same reason.

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It’s an extra 30p for a day rider bus and tram - hardly expensive. And if the 57 was commercially viable it would still operate. Stagecoach Yorkshire have also pulled SL2 for the same reason.

 

But it is still an increase and these pennies all add up. CityBus also not valid so you need to buy a CityWide ticket due to changing onto the tram.

 

The main point still remains would people prefer a bus through to the city centre, without the need to change (like the 57/58 used to provide) even if less frequent, or a bus and tram with no guaranteed connection meaning as a bus pulls in, the tram pulls out like what usually happens and you're stuck at Middlewood waiting for anything upto 10 minutes on a good day.

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But it is still an increase and these pennies all add up. CityBus also not valid so you need to buy a CityWide ticket due to changing onto the tram.

 

The main point still remains would people prefer a bus through to the city centre, without the need to change (like the 57/58 used to provide) even if less frequent, or a bus and tram with no guaranteed connection meaning as a bus pulls in, the tram pulls out like what usually happens and you're stuck at Middlewood waiting for anything upto 10 minutes on a good day.

 

Well some SL services run to hillsborough allowing you to connect directly with a bus saving you the 30p.

 

And ten minutes is hardly the end of the world. The government have cut the money to councils and PTEs to spend on public transport. Would we prefer a better service? Yes but where will the money pay for it? Like I say, Stockbridge is lucky compared to some of the surrounding towns and villages. We have two buses a day to Sheffield, a two hourly service to Barnsley and a two hourly service to Stocksbridge!

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When I lived at Deepcar, I didn't find the bus services to be too bad. I found High Green to be much worse, its closer to the city centre but sometimes it would take me 2 hours and several buses to get home.

I'm now at the far end of Stocksbridge, but fortunately I now have a car. I'm not looking forward to the icy/snowy days when I have to leave the car at home. I've already worked out that I would have to catch the 57 or walk to the Co-op for the Supertram Link bus.

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When I lived at Deepcar, I didn't find the bus services to be too bad. I found High Green to be much worse, its closer to the city centre but sometimes it would take me 2 hours and several buses to get home.

I'm now at the far end of Stocksbridge, but fortunately I now have a car. I'm not looking forward to the icy/snowy days when I have to leave the car at home. I've already worked out that I would have to catch the 57 or walk to the Co-op for the Supertram Link bus.

 

It is definitely worth investing in a pair of winter tyres. Best thing I ever did.

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I have given up on that bus service.

 

When it was introduced the TramLink had a dedicated pool of drivers who did seem to make an effort. This helped when things went wrong. Plus there was a proper service in the evening. However fares have risen faster than inflation whilst the service deteriorates.

 

In the end I became fed up watching the tram leave as the bus pulls into the stop at Middlewood. A direct bus service, even if only at peak times would help.

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It is definitely worth investing in a pair of winter tyres. Best thing I ever did.

 

Do you fit/remove them from your wheels yourself with your tyre changing machine and wheel balancer?

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