New Sheffield Bus Network- good or bad for the public?

[tbtc 10]

Part of the problem is that the frequency on the 57 is further reduced in the morning peak. It is now every 40 minutes, whereas before the "improvements" it was every 20 minutes with an X57 trip as well.

So the chages have not been beneficial in the Stocksbridge area.

 

Stocksbridge managed with just four buses an hour to Sheffield for many years.

 

Then it got a ten minute minibus service to connect with the Middlewood trams. Then these were upgraded to full sized buses. So the recent changes still see more seats than Stocksbridge used to cope with.

[hello1964 23]

First did not like the Competition from Stagecoach an they couldn"t keep up with the Fare Prices,They used to be £18.50 a week on First an £11 on Stagecoach,they stopped alot of Stagecoach buses going on the same routes as theres,but Stagecoach are more Reliable,the 47/48 at Herdings to Shiregreen as been so Unreliable for Years but no changes have been made to improve it by First,but now Stagecoach at stepped in with the 79,why couldn"t the Sheffield Council get Rid of First as All they are bothered about is making Money not helping the Sheffield Public at All

Agree about First. Remember the fake campaignof publicity with posters on the buses about if we are late we will compensate/ run like clockwork or your money back?

I complained twice about late/non existent buses and they just fobbed me off totally.

No money back, so a fake it was after all.

[AndrewC 307]

People can only really comment on the services they use, so getting an overall picture just from personal testimony is incredibly difficult.

 

Personally, there was little wrong with the routes I use (mainly 97/98/75/76/22 between Nether Edge and Town/NGH) anyway except the price. Now it's just £11 for a week ticket and that helps me financially a lot. Over the course of a week that is unquestionably closer to the cost I would say I feel it is worth paying for the service you get. £18.50 felt unquestionably expensive.

[AndrewC 307]

Sheffield Council get Rid of First as All they are bothered about is making Money not helping the Sheffield Public at All

 

Never fails to amuse me this argument, even if it is wheeled out at every opportunity.

 

Like it or lump it, Public Transport is the exact opposite of what the name suggests. These are private companies and like any other private company they exist to make profit for shareholders. They may try to win your custom with good customer service and a quality product* but that's only so you pick them over other companies.

 

You find me a bus company who genuinely care whether you get from A to B, beyond meaning you spend more money with them in the future, and fair enough. We can start a petition to the council to attract them to Sheffield.

[Planner1 438]

why couldn"t the Sheffield Council get Rid of First as All they are bothered about is making Money not helping the Sheffield Public at All

That would be because Sheffield Council have no authority over bus services.

 

South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive are the public transport Authority, not the Council, it's been like that for decades, it's not exactly a new concept.

 

SYPTE can't "get rid" of First because it's a deregulated bus market. Any registered operator can register and run bus routes.

 

The Sheffield Bus Agreement is the most that can be done within the existing regulatory framework without moving to franchising, like they have in London. That would likely mean a legal battle with the bus operators and a big financial risk to SYPTE and the South Yorkshire Local Authorities who fund it.

 

First are private company, they exist to make profit. Why would you expect something different?

[MrSkinner 10]

Of course First are going to operate for maximum profit, just like you would with your own business - they dont exist to run bus services out of the kindness of their heart!

Edited March 20, 2013 by MrSkinner

[S10mainly 10]

The 51 is still running to its own imaginary timetable, and the 52 is still excellent

 

Interests me as to why the 51 is so expensive compared to the 52 - anyone know?

[Andy C 86]

The 51 is still running to its own imaginary timetable, and the 52 is still excellent

 

Interests me as to why the 51 is so expensive compared to the 52 - anyone know?

 

The 51 isn't expensive - £3.40 for a day ticket or £11 for a weekly ticket!

 

The 52 has special offers including a cheap maximum single fare as there are two rival operators competing.

 

The main reason for poor timekeeping on the 51, which is a cross city route, is probably traffic conditions, something that will only change if the council does something about it. However the council don't like to be seen to be anti car....

[sabbath18 10]

I would have liked to see just a single ticket covers all instead of First dropping their prices to compete with stagecoach,but we got the city wide ticket. I bought one of these tickets last week on a stagecoach bus and had no end of trouble because First bus drivers dont recognise it (i know,its new),so ended up explaining several times "its a city wide". surely one ticket,one price,any bus would have been easier.

[S10mainly 10]

I never had a problem with City Wide, except the first few days its was originally issued - The StageCoach drivers seemed to think it was a First ticket....a quick call to the supervisor at Ecclesfield soon got that sorted though

[S10mainly 10]

The 51 isn't expensive - £3.40 for a day ticket or £11 for a weekly ticket!

 

The 52 has special offers including a cheap maximum single fare as there are two rival operators competing.

 

The main reason for poor timekeeping on the 51, which is a cross city route, is probably traffic conditions, something that will only change if the council does something about it. However the council don't like to be seen to be anti car....

its the single fares that are expensive on the 51...... 52 is £1.40 all the way from Hillsborough to Woodhouse - the 51 costs that from Crosspool to Broomhill!

[sabbath18 10]

I never had a problem with City Wide, except the first few days its was originally issued - The StageCoach drivers seemed to think it was a First ticket....a quick call to the supervisor at Ecclesfield soon got that sorted though

 

Lucky you, ive had several including one driver that was adamant the weekly city wide was not valid on the X78 from Meadowhell to Town but a daily one would have been:loopy: . stood my ground and asked him to get in touch with depot and lo and behold it was valid,all this with a bus full of tutting passengers clock watching. No apology though, i think the Stagecoach public relations course must be a better one:hihi: