January 2020 Bus Service Changes

[Michael_N 36]

There are currently 2 bus consultations running with First South Yorkshire and Stagecoach Yorkshire across a number of services in the Sheffield/Rotherham and North Derbyshire areas. The info has been posted below and you can view their websites to fill in the consultations by clicking on the following links:

 

First South Yorkshire - https://www.firstgroup.com/south-yorkshire/routes-and-maps/customer-consultation-proposed-service-changes

Stagecoach Yorkshire - https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/yorkshire/proposed-changes-in-chesterfield-jan-2020

 

The changes in detail are as follows...

 

First South Yorkshire:

 

113	Service withdrawn
116	Frequency change to operate every 30 minutes.
Service 22a/22c	Frequency change to operate 20 mins at peak times, every 40 mins each way during daytime.
Service X1/X10	Service X1 to operate 4 buses an hour Rotherham to Maltby, with 2 buses per hour extending to Sheffield via Meadowhall. Service X10 to operate 2 buses per hour Meadowall-Rotherham-Maltby-Doncaster
Service 208	Service diverted to also cover Wickersley
Service 74	Service rerouted to Operate Rotherham, Brinsworth, Meadowhall, Sheffield

Stagecoach Yorkshire: 

 

Service 43
This service will be rerouted to serve Newbold, running via Newbold Road, Littlemoor and St John’s Road, creating new links to Whitttington Moor and onwards to Dronfield and Sheffield, without the need to travel via Chesterfield town centre. Buses will run twice an hour during Monday to Saturday daytimes over the full route with an extra bus per hour between Dronfield and Sheffield on Mondays to Fridays. When combined with service 44, there will be a bus every 15 minutes (every 20 minutes on Saturdays) between Meadowhead, Woodseats and Sheffield.

Existing services 50, 50A and 50B will continue to provide up to four journeys per hour on Sheffield Road to Sheffield. In addition service X17 will continue to provide a fast link from certain stops on Sheffield Road to Sheffield.  The link between Sheffield Road and Dronfield will be maintained by service 44 albeit on a lower hourly frequency.

Service 44
A revised timetable will be introduced to coordinate with service 43 (see above) but will still run every hour during the daytime.

Service 51

Buses will run every 30 minutes during Monday to Saturday daytimes. Bigger buses will be introduced. The extension to Chesterfield rail station will be withdrawn due to low usage. Hourly service X1 Chesterfield – Clay Cross - Alfreton – East Midlands Outlet - Nottingham provides an additional fast journey per hour between Clay Cross and Chesterfield along the A61.

Service 70
This service will be withdrawn due to low usage.Alternative facilities exist for some customers on services 50, 50a, 50b, 53, 74a and 80.

Service 72
This service will be replaced by service 80 with a revised timetable between Brimington and Chesterfield and will run as service 80 via Chesterfield Royal Hospital. In Sheffield the route will extend to The Moor to better serve the growth areas of Sheffield City Centre. Between Staveley and Chesterfield buses will run via Hady and Chesterfield Hospital, creating new links.

Service 74
The timetable will be revised to coordinate with service 77, providing direct buses every 15 minutes during the daytime between Brimington and Chesterfield. Service 74 will continue to operate every 30 minutes between Chesterfield and Staveley, but will be reduced to operate hourly between Staveley and Duckmanton with one journey per hour operating to Mastin Moor instead as Service 74a to provide two buses per hour between Lansbury Avenue and Chesterfield with service 80

Service 80
The timetable will be revised. One bus an hour will be extended beyond Brimington via Staveley, Mastin Moor, Renishaw, Killamarsh and Crystal Peaks to Sheffield (replacing service 72). In Sheffield, buses will serve The Moor. New links will be created to/from Chesterfield Royal Hospital.

[Pyrotequila 402]

Quote

Service X1 to operate 4 buses an hour Rotherham to Maltby, with 2 buses per hour extending to Sheffield via Meadowhall. Service X10 to operate 2 buses per hour Meadowall-Rotherham-Maltby-Doncaster

Does that mean reduced frequency? Or an additional service?

[Michael_N 36]

37 minutes ago, Pyrotequila said:

Does that mean reduced frequency? Or an additional service?

From the looks of things, it will move from a 10-15 min service to a 30 min service between Sheffield and Meadowhall and will remain a 10 min service between Meadowhall, Rotherham and Maltby. Quite a downgrade!

[Fudbeer 12]

Sadly as less people use them services become less frequent, resulting in less people using them  bit of a vicious circle.

 

Only place I see a decent bus service these days is London which is heavily subsidised. 

[Pyrotequila 402]

2 hours ago, Michael_N said:

From the looks of things, it will move from a 10-15 min service to a 30 min service between Sheffield and Meadowhall and will remain a 10 min service between Meadowhall, Rotherham and Maltby. Quite a downgrade!

Well hopefully not as it's the bus I use to get to work in the morning....and it's the ONLY bus that goes down Attercliffe.

[Michael_N 36]

16 minutes ago, Pyrotequila said:

Well hopefully not as it's the bus I use to get to work in the morning....and it's the ONLY bus that goes down Attercliffe.

Make sure you and all your fellow colleagues fill in the online consultation then.

[Andromeda 10]

Please can anyone tell give me more detailed information about the proposed changes to the First bus number 74? 
 

The First website just gives the following information but I cannot tell from this whether  it will affect my journeys.

 

Service 74

Service rerouted to Operate Rotherham, Brinsworth, Meadowhall, Sheffield

 

Thanks in anticipation.

[Guest busdriver1]

On 29/10/2019 at 18:17, Pyrotequila said:

Does that mean reduced frequency? Or an additional service?

It is a reduced frequency. Since its inception the service has been horrendous. The Maltby end was predicted to suffer from Sheffield delays and it did from day one. Frequent gaps in service of up to an hour meant that people in Maltby made alternative arrangements. Rather than fix these issues, First reduced to service resulting in more people abandoning the service and so on. Powells did try to run their X7 all day but this missed the point by miles. A service that was reliable to Rotherham would have been well received but since this just followed the myth that people from Maltby and Wickersley want to go to Sheffield. They clearly dont so that failed as well.

As for the Meadowhall to Sheffield end of the route. The service 69 that the X1 replaced ran every 30 minutes and did not perform well. Why would changing the number and increasing the journey time by going through Meadowhall improve that?

[Andy C 86]

If you recall the X1 was the bus that was launched to operate "Bus Rapid Transit North" which our region claimed EU money to build. This was basically building the new road that bypasses Tinsley M1 roundabout along with a number of bus gates along Attercliffe Common.

 

Forgetting Maltby for a moment, the main flow of passengers now seem to be Rotherham-Meadowhall.

 

The new service proposed for the X1/X10 combined is;

6 buses per hour Maltby-Rotherham

4 buses per hour Rotherham-Meadowhall

2 buses per hour Meadowhall-Sheffield

 

Of course the Meadowhall-Sheffield section of the X1 simply duplicated the tram service as well as adding to the X78 for direct journeys between the two. The Yellow route tram offers a service from Meadowhall to City via Attercliffe every 10-12 minutes in the daytime and every 20 minutes evenings and Sundays. There is also now the tram train service running up to 3 times an hour Sheffield - Attercliffe - Meadowhall South - Rotherham Central - Parkgate.

 

Citywide and South Yorkshire Connect tickets from Travelmaster (www.sytravelmaster.com) offer unlimited travel on any bus or tram.

 

With regards the 74, I would agree it isn't entirely clear what First is proposing, however currently the 74 goes directly from Brinsworth to Catcliffe/Waverley then to Sheffield via Handsworth and Manor Top and the new route they mention proposed it going from Brinsworth to Meadowhall then into Sheffield which is an obvious change, however it doesn't say how it gets from Meadowhall to Sheffield! If you use the 74 I suggest contacting First to clarify.

 

The Stagecoach changes currently under consultation are all Chesterfield services if you hadn't noticed, however it does affect some Sheffield services, for example the 72 that runs non stop Sheffield to Crystal Peaks then on to Beighton, Killamarsh and Chesterfield along with the 43 Sheffield-Dronfield-Chesterfield where one bus an hour is to terminate at Dronfield Civic Centre and Chesterfield buses take a slightly longer way round via Newbold.

[Michael_N 36]

The X1 is a complete joke of a service and it’s not uncommon to see 3 or 4 running around together. This is the main reason people are not using it, the reliability of the service is horrendous. The 69 provided a much better service before it was withdrawn and it provided a direct(ish) service between Sheffield and Rotherham that avoided most of the traffic around Meadowhall by running direct along Attercliffe Common. The X1 routing means it’s longer in terms of journey time from Rotherham to Sheffield than the X78.

 

The 74 looks like it’s going to be a former route - the 130. From a pure speculation point I’d imagine once it reaches Canklow Roundabout it will somehow combine with the current 208 and potentially provide a half hourly service into Sheffield? 
 

To say this is a consultation, the effort by both First and Stagecoach is p**s poor. Where’s the in-depth detail about the changes, proposed new route maps and even a proposed timetable so people can have a look and see if it will work for them!?

 

Not everyone wants to use the Tram as it’s more expensive, and half the time you’re lucky if it isn’t cancelled due to problems with either the vehicles, staff shortages or Network Rail issues. I do note that if any tram is to fail to operate it’s the #39 off Cathedral And #09 off Parkgate. I’m still amazed how it’s reached 1 million passengers and 100% satisfaction - clearly someone has been at play with the figures as in reality many are not happy with any of the current services and the few times I’ve used it, what was a full tram to Tinsley/Meadowhall South then becomes an empty one to Rotherham.

[Pyrotequila 402]

13 hours ago, busdriver1 said:

It is a reduced frequency. Since its inception the service has been horrendous.

Well I hope they don't screw around with the early morning timings...folks need to get to work.

[Andy C 86]

23 hours ago, Michael_N said:

The X1 is a complete joke of a service and it’s not uncommon to see 3 or 4 running around together. This is the main reason people are not using it, the reliability of the service is horrendous. The 69 provided a much better service before it was withdrawn and it provided a direct(ish) service between Sheffield and Rotherham that avoided most of the traffic around Meadowhall by running direct along Attercliffe Common. The X1 routing means it’s longer in terms of journey time from Rotherham to Sheffield than the X78.

 

The 74 looks like it’s going to be a former route - the 130. From a pure speculation point I’d imagine once it reaches Canklow Roundabout it will somehow combine with the current 208 and potentially provide a half hourly service into Sheffield? 
 

To say this is a consultation, the effort by both First and Stagecoach is p**s poor. Where’s the in-depth detail about the changes, proposed new route maps and even a proposed timetable so people can have a look and see if it will work for them!?

 

Not everyone wants to use the Tram as it’s more expensive, and half the time you’re lucky if it isn’t cancelled due to problems with either the vehicles, staff shortages or Network Rail issues. I do note that if any tram is to fail to operate it’s the #39 off Cathedral And #09 off Parkgate. I’m still amazed how it’s reached 1 million passengers and 100% satisfaction - clearly someone has been at play with the figures as in reality many are not happy with any of the current services and the few times I’ve used it, what was a full tram to Tinsley/Meadowhall South then becomes an empty one to Rotherham.

Actually I think the bus is the most expensive way of travelling Sheffield-Rotherham:

Train - day return £4.40 (reduced to £3.70 at off peak times)

Tram - tram only Dayrider £4.20

Bus - First Day South Yorkshire £5.00