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First Buses are a total shambles

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Tuesday 2.25pm - waiting for a number 81 to take me up to Stannington to collect my daughter from school to take her to a doctors appt.

 

14.34 bus did not turn up - phoned travel line SY who informed me that it should be there and they did not know why it hadn't turned up, the man on the phone seemed totally unconcerned that I was not able to get to school in time to collect my daughter and I was told to wait for the next bus - 14.54

 

Waited for the 14.54 - this did not turn up either, phoned SY travel line back and they gave me the number for first buses who told me there were staffing problems - sorry but that is not my problem! - Why advertise a service if you cannot fulfil it?

 

I rely on the buses to get me to school to pick my children up and I leave work in plenty of time to collect them - however, when the buses do not turn up I am late and my daughter gets worried that I am not coming. First buses seemed totally unconcerned about this and have passed my complaint on and i will receive a response in 10 days.

 

Has anyone else had poor service by first buses?

 

Unfortunate for you on this occasion but hardly a "total shambles" - #hyperbole

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They are a "total shambles"

 

And here's another reason, from Leeds and Manchester or other cities,you can catch a bus to take you round the City centre right at the entrance of the railway station.

Not in Sheffield though. In fact as I discovered just recently when my Aunt and cousin were coming by train here to meet me in town for a shopping visit there isn't even a bus from the bus station that takes you to the town centre near High street or the Peace Gardens since they discontinued the free bee bus. All those buses and not one, isn't that ridiculous.

 

The tram picks you up in the railway station and takes you to High Street and West Street.

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Are the trams still not going past the station or is that problem solved?. The 120 bus does not pass the station front on its way into town only on the way out, there are now no bus stops serving the station so no buses use it, the nearest is the interchange, logistically how many people would be needed to use a bus from the station to warrant one being deployed to the city centre ?

It is a difficult problem to be able to suit everyone when so many different needs are required.

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Are the trams still not going past the station or is that problem solved?. The 120 bus does not pass the station front on its way into town only on the way out, there are now no bus stops serving the station so no buses use it, the nearest is the interchange, logistically how many people would be needed to use a bus from the station to warrant one being deployed to the city centre ?

It is a difficult problem to be able to suit everyone when so many different needs are required.

 

The full tram network is now running normally. Trams from railway station to Cathedral about every 10 minutes all day every day.

 

Special offers this week and next week - £1.70 max single fare, £3 all day ticket and £10 weekly ticket for tram only. Weekly offer extended a further two weeks if you buy online.

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Having called sytp the 90% was biased on journeys that had an inspector on they couldn't give a figure on actual buses running to time . It funny that TV adverts that claim x amount journeys arrive on time state total journeys (Airline ad) and busses didn't.

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Also compared to their Stagecoach counterparts, the First busses always seem groggy and dirty.

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Have you asked an old Sheffielder about buses in the the 1970's? The general consensus is that they were great, a mad woman called Margaret went and cocked it all up in the 1980's.

 

Indeed, plus SCC are not responsible for unning local bus services, unless it's those disabled local services buses.

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Indeed, plus SCC are not responsible for unning local bus services, unless it's those disabled local services buses.

 

And they get subcontracted out to SCT dont they?

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I have had an almost identical experience with First and a similar response to it from Travel Line.

Travel line is, I believe, run by the Passenger Transport Executive. In my opinion it is often not fit for purpose.

 

Their (First) "staffing problems" seem to be becoming more prevalent too as the number of buses going missing has become a daily event.

 

You should write or e-mail your complaint to make sure it is logged otherwise no pressure can be brought to bear on First to improve the service.

 

Send it to First and the PTE and keep a record. I am amassing quite a collection.

 

An update on an item from that collection.

 

 

I have just exchanged e-mails with First Customer Services. These are in regard of a complaint I made about a missing bus on the 6th August this year. That is just over 8 weeks since. I mention this only to stress how swift the customer service can be when First make the effort.

 

I arrived at the bus stop on Nursery Street at 2235 with two companions intending to catch the 48 service scheduled to arrive at 2242. When the bus did not appear my companions and I returned to the Harlequin pub to wait for the next one. The time was 2250.

 

First have sent me a print out of the GPS tracker signal which purports to show the bus arriving on Nursery Street at 2241.

 

Did anyone notice Dynamo and a camera crew anywhere close to Nursery Street on the 6th August please?

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An update on an item from that collection.

 

 

I have just exchanged e-mails with First Customer Services. These are in regard of a complaint I made about a missing bus on the 6th August this year. That is just over 8 weeks since. I mention this only to stress how swift the customer service can be when First make the effort.

 

I arrived at the bus stop on Nursery Street at 2235 with two companions intending to catch the 48 service scheduled to arrive at 2242. When the bus did not appear my companions and I returned to the Harlequin pub to wait for the next one. The time was 2250.

 

First have sent me a print out of the GPS tracker signal which purports to show the bus arriving on Nursery Street at 2241.

 

Did anyone notice Dynamo and a camera crew anywhere close to Nursery Street on the 6th August please?

 

So they have GPS trackers on do they and they still disappear. Its an utter joke of a service.

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I've downloaded an app on my phone called 'Moovit' which is good for getting real time bus info.

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I've downloaded an app on my phone called 'Moovit' which is good for getting real time bus info.

 

How does that work? Does it take info from the trackers on the buses where it can and rely on the timetable for the others? If so, then sadly it'll only be reliable on a minority of the buses that have working GPS trackers on them :(.

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