Sheffield Bus Network Changes - September 2019

[Guest busdriver1]

11 hours ago, Retro Queen said:

Can I just ask - how do you go on with no bus service at all in your area?

I use my car

[Retro Queen 1]

7 hours ago, busdriver1 said:

I use my car

I don't drive so have to put up with the crap bus service

[Andy C 85]

On 22/09/2019 at 23:14, Ms Macbeth said:

Yes, thats just this weekend though. These cross city services all fall foul of similar problems.      52as regularly come in pairs,  and the tracker continually shows buses that never appear. A young woman in Hillsborough waited in vain for a 135  that showed as 'due' on the tracker for the 20 mins I waited for my 52a bus, and she'd been there ages before me.  At least I can use the tram.

these are all problems caused by traffic congestion that the bus operators can do nothing about.

 

It won't change until the council take responsibility, tackle traffic congestion, get more bus priority measures in and properly enforce the ones that are already there. Unfortunately there is a political culture in Sheffield where councilors want to be seen to be car friendly - and its much cheaper & easier to simply criticise the private bus companies.

Edited September 28, 2019 by Andy C

[Michael_N 36]

6 hours ago, Andy C said:

these are all problems caused by traffic congestion that the bus operators can do nothing about.

 

It won't change until the council take responsibility, tackle traffic congestion, get more bus priority measures in and properly enforce the ones that are already there. Unfortunately there is a political culture in Sheffield where councilors want to be seen to be car friendly - and its much cheaper & easier to simply criticise the private bus companies.

No, bus companies can do something about it. It happens in other cities where correct scheduling and increasing the vehicles at peak times take place. First South Yorkshire are too busy penny pinching at the minute.

 

Stagecoach are much better at scheduling their services, indeed they give their drivers around 6 minutes on the 88 to catch up in town, where as First generally just give 2 mins on both the 81/82 and 75/76 etc. 

 

More realistic and better scheduling would would be a start. That way services would become more reliable and therefore people would start using the services more if they actually turned up when they were supposed to!!!

[Ms Macbeth 73]

14 hours ago, Andy C said:

these are all problems caused by traffic congestion that the bus operators can do nothing about.

 

It won't change until the council take responsibility, tackle traffic congestion, get more bus priority measures in and properly enforce the ones that are already there. Unfortunately there is a political culture in Sheffield where councilors want to be seen to be car friendly - and its much cheaper & easier to simply criticise the private bus companies.

Fair enough, I understand that point although people berate SCC for being unfriendly to motorists.  But, when we had local bus services (13/14,  then S6/S6A)  we could rely on them.  Now, people travelling to Wisewood/Loxley on the 52a (which we were assured was the replacement service) are relying on buses that start in Woodhouse, and once they get through town, have to get through Broomhill, Crookes and Hillsborough.   It wasn't so bad when Stagecoach ran that route, but they now only run the 52 which terminates at Crookes.    

Edited September 29, 2019 by Ms Macbeth

[Andy C 85]

9 hours ago, Michael_N said:

No, bus companies can do something about it. It happens in other cities where correct scheduling and increasing the vehicles at peak times take place. First South Yorkshire are too busy penny pinching at the minute.

 

Stagecoach are much better at scheduling their services, indeed they give their drivers around 6 minutes on the 88 to catch up in town, where as First generally just give 2 mins on both the 81/82 and 75/76 etc. 

 

More realistic and better scheduling would would be a start. That way services would become more reliable and therefore people would start using the services more if they actually turned up when they were supposed to!!!

All the bus companies have been doing that for a few years now - adding extra minutes running time to reflect being stuck in traffic longer. The trouble is they've done it so many times now the journey times have become so long some people have stopped using those buses, the traffic has got worse and even longer journeys are required....

 

When the journey gets longer, if you want to achieve the same frequency of service, you need to add more buses to the system. That means increasing the fleet, employing more drivers and facing more maintenance costs. There is no increase in revenue in return for putting those extra buses on and at the current ticket prices operators are already working on wafer thin margins. Add in the poor reimbursement levels for concessionary pass use and you can see why we are at the point where instead of putting more vehicles out there they are reducing the frequency or merging routes - its getting to the point where it will start bankrupting bus companies.

 

When it comes to cross city services, don't forget that isn't always just about operational efficiency/convenience, it is often down to passenger demand - especially if the route passes a hospital. In the case of 81/82 There are people from Ecclesall/Banner Cross areas who want to visit Kelham Island or Hillsborough and there are people from the Stannington/Hillsborough end travelling to Moorfoot and Ecclesall Road. None of the passengers like to find themselves sat on a stationary bus in town for ages.

1 hour ago, Ms Macbeth said:

Fair enough, I understand that point although people berate SCC for being unfriendly to motorists.  But, when we had local bus services (13/14,  then S6/S6A)  we could rely on them.  Now, people travelling to Wisewood/Loxley on the 52a (which we were assured was the replacement service) are relying on buses that start in Woodhouse, and once they get through town, have to get through Broomhill, Crookes and Hillsborough.   It wasn't so bad when Stagecoach ran that route, but they now only run the 52 which terminates at Crookes.    

It has been a Sheffield thing for years - people keep berating the council so they make more effort to be seen as car friendly. Unfortunately people won't accept that in a city it is unreasonable to expect to be allowed to have complete freedom to drive or park anywhere you want and sod anyone else.

 

There is still a local bus in the form of the Powells 61/62 from Hillsborough Interchange to Bradfield via Loxley or Stannington.

 

Such buses have to be subsidised by SYPTE as they aren't commercially viable and like most public sector organisations have faced budget cuts as part of government austerity policy and therefore can't afford to fund as much.

 

That said it does still provide some opportunity should there be a problem with the 52a or 81/82 to join that little bus down to Hillsborough and get a tram into town instead.

 

Buy a Citywide pass and you have the freedom to get any bus or tram in the city.

Edited September 29, 2019 by Andy C

[Ms Macbeth 73]

I have a senior pass, so the cost isn't an issue for me as it would be for younger people who have to pay.   The issue is more about reliability.  I use the TSY tracker, and that, like the electronic signs on bus stops (none in Hillsborough so far), regularly show a bus to be on its way, then due, then it just disappears.   I'm not clear how that works!   The 61/62  is pretty reliable,  if only  an hourly service in each direction.

[catmiss 12]

Friends have told me that there is going to be a congestion charge applied to Sheffield City Centre which will also be applied to busses. Is this true? 

[catmiss 12]

On 26/09/2019 at 18:02, Retro Queen said:

Can I just ask - how do you go on with no bus service at all in your area?

You only go out for essential journeys to doctors, dentists, opticians etc. and the weekly shop. At £5 for the taxi up hill home I can’t afford any other outings. Before anyone suggests internet shopping I can’t spend enough weekly to qualify and no room to store more infrequent shops. Any non essential activities, ie social or leisure, have gone. I’ve heard of people experiencing this in rural communities but in a city like Sheffield!

[Resident 1,185]

7 hours ago, catmiss said:

Friends have told me that there is going to be a congestion charge applied to Sheffield City Centre which will also be applied to busses. Is this true? 

Yes. 

 

SCC want to bring in a Clean Air Zone. 

 

Initially charges will only apply to taxis, HGVs & buses that don't comply or exceed Euro6. 

 

Anyone with half a brain cell can see that will change when SCC realise how much they will make by upping the standards higher

 

The scheme will not include private cars. SCC say they won't be charging private cars under caz but we all know that they will at some point because it's just another way of bleeding more revenue from the motorist. 

 

Smaller bus firms like TM don't have the resources to convert their fleets from Euro4 to Euro6 or purchase new since their current fleets are now worthless. 

 

Expect services to be severely affected.

Edited September 30, 2019 by Resident

[Louby62 10]

What a bloody farse & mess have been made with the buses. Get rid of FIRST.

[RollingJ 1,999]

It is not all First Buses fault. Lower passenger numbers, lower subsidies for uneconomic routes and a PTE run by people who don't have a clue are also contributory factors.