January 2020 Bus Service Changes

[Resident 1,185]

10 hours ago, Andy C said:

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

Trams and trains are somewhat limited in their pickup / destinations though. 

 

[Resident 1,185]

On 31/10/2019 at 10:31, 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 X1 suffers from heavy traffic in multiple areas along its route, particularly Arundel Gate, Meadowhall & Bramley/Hellaby, sometimes in Maltby (Queens crossroads) 

 

It also suffers from the fact that route planners haven't allowed loading time at Meadowhall. Timetable gives it about 80 seconds however it's often a busy load so can end up 5-10 mins late from Meadowhall. By which time the next one has caught up because it's not got anybody to pickup. 

 

Put these together with the 10 min frequency and that's why you get the bunching. 

 

They also use those blue buses for the route as that's what they were bought for and they've proved unreliable as operational vehicles. Says a lot when you consider the manufacturer, Wrightbus, recently went bust despite large orders for these buses, Streetdeck (doubledeckers) Streetlites (single deck). 

 

Wrightbus also made the London busses known as Boris-buses. 

[Guest busdriver1]

13 hours ago, Resident said:

The X1 suffers from heavy traffic in multiple areas along its route, particularly Arundel Gate, Meadowhall & Bramley/Hellaby, sometimes in Maltby (Queens crossroads) 

 

It also suffers from the fact that route planners haven't allowed loading time at Meadowhall. Timetable gives it about 80 seconds however it's often a busy load so can end up 5-10 mins late from Meadowhall. By which time the next one has caught up because it's not got anybody to pickup. 

 

Put these together with the 10 min frequency and that's why you get the bunching. 

 

They also use those blue buses for the route as that's what they were bought for and they've proved unreliable as operational vehicles. Says a lot when you consider the manufacturer, Wrightbus, recently went bust despite large orders for these buses, Streetdeck (doubledeckers) Streetlites (single deck). 

 

Wrightbus also made the London busses known as Boris-buses. 

The route for the X1 could well have been arrived at by just joining together all the known congestion hotspots  then building a new road to link 2 together. The original plan was for a segregated bus route (well 2 actually) from Rotherham to Sheffield but due to the usual planning capabilities of SYPTE and its bedfellows it wound up as one stretch of PUBLIC road and a load of bus gates that actually slow down the buses.

The decision to run it to Maltby was an exercise in running the Rotherham - Maltby service from Sheffield to help with a long held ambition of some from first to close rotherham depot. That has failed in a spectacular way with loadings between Rotherham and Maltby at an all time low as buses frequently fail to turn up because of the aforementioned congestion.

The blue deckers were bought as a long awaited upgrade for the X78 as one of first groups best performing routes in the uk.The requirement for the BRT scheme was for new and dedicated vehicles but as the money had run out First offered to use these buses on the X1 to try and salvage it. The decision was also made to sacrifice the X78 to prop up the X1 as there was (quite rightly so) little confidence it  would work as it was, due to massive route duplication and established low demand. 

The closure of Rotherham depot and reduction in the X78 meant that any sensible person would allocate half of the blue deckers to Doncaster for the X78 and the remainder to Sheffield for the X1 presenting a common standard of vehicle and service on the Sheffield to Meadowhall corridor. Unfortunately the Childlike attitude meant that they all went to Sheffield and got used anywhere and everywhere and Doncaster did not have enough deckers for the X78 and it wound up being run with woefully small single deckers resulting in passenger losses in line with the losses on Rotherham to Maltby services.

When Powells started running the X7 all day a MASSIVE opportunity was missed. Had they run Maltby to Rotherham they would have had full buses as that corridor is now not taken seriously by anyone in the area.

 

The issues referred to with the streetdecks are related to the Mercedes engines. I understand that Joe Bamford is looking at a better alternative as a stopgap until his true zero emissions vehicles are in full production.

On 01/11/2019 at 10:11, Andy C said:

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

Tram destinations are very restrictive and train more so. there is also the fact that very few people start their journeys in Central Rotherham or Sheffield and the buses offer better through connection. Most people using a tram or train would have to make a connecting service at one or both ends making the Tram or train option the most expensive by far.

[Andy C 85]

8 hours ago, busdriver1 said:

Tram destinations are very restrictive and train more so. there is also the fact that very few people start their journeys in Central Rotherham or Sheffield and the buses offer better through connection. Most people using a tram or train would have to make a connecting service at one or both ends making the Tram or train option the most expensive by far.

To be fair things are moving towards the Travelmaster ticket range rather than operator specific (for many bus connections in Sheffield or Rotherham are with a different operator) so with both bus and tram passengers on the South Yorkshire Connect tickets (£6.80 for a day ticket or £23.50 for a weekly ticket) valid on all buses and trams in the county, the cost is the same for both tram and bus and flexibility is enjoyed. It does of course cost more if you want to include trains too.

 

In terms of direct services, the X1 is proposed to be reduced to 2 buses an hour Sheffield-Meadowhall-Rotherham (with some extras Meadowhall-Rotherham) but that is alongside the X78 offering up to 4 buses an hour and the tram offering up to 3 departures per hour - so 9 an hour in total across X1/X78/TT.  Within Sheffield, the Attercliffe area is also served by buses 9, 9a, 52, 52a and 208 along with the Yellow route tram. I think there will still be plentiful provision!

 

 

 

Just to remind the proposed changes to Sheffield buses for January: (They are all basically Rotherham or Chesterfield bound buses)

 

First buses:

X1/X10: Sheffield-Meadowhall-Rotherham-Maltby-Doncaster: Change to frequency and service pattern

74: Sheffield-Manor Top-Handsworth-Waverley-Catcliffe-Brinsworth-Rotherham: Change of route via Meadowhall

208: Sheffield-Tinsley-Dinnington: Change of route via Wickersley

 

Stagecoach buses:

43: Sheffield-Dronfield-Dronfield Woodhouse-Chesterfield: Change of route between Whittington Moor and Chesterfield via Newbold and change to timetable/service pattern

44: Sheffield-Coal Aston-Dronfield-Chesterfield: timetable change

72: Sheffield-Crystal Peaks-Killamarsh-Renishaw-Staveley-Chesterfield: Replaced by service 80 with some changes to route with The Moor in Sheffield and Chesterfield Royal Hospital served by the new route.

 

Additionally taking place in December at the National Rail timetable change there is a change to the tram train timetable.

 

[Pyrotequila 401]

2 hours ago, Andy C said:

 Within Sheffield, the Attercliffe area is also served by buses 9, 9a, 52, 52a and 208 along with the Yellow route tram. I think there will still be plentiful provision!

 

Attercliffe Common? By the new University buildings?

I've searched and can only find X1 and X10 as buses that go that way at a useful frequency (currently)

[Resident 1,185]

1 hour ago, Pyrotequila said:

Attercliffe Common? By the new University buildings?

I've searched and can only find X1 and X10 as buses that go that way at a useful frequency (currently)

Stainforth Road stop isn't that far. Nice healthy walk... 

[catmiss 12]

Given the previous cuts to services across the region I can’t help but conclude that decisions are being made to make certain routes so unattractive to users that they then can be further reduced or withdrawn due to “low usage “. 

[Guest busdriver1]

8 hours ago, catmiss said:

Given the previous cuts to services across the region I can’t help but conclude that decisions are being made to make certain routes so unattractive to users that they then can be further reduced or withdrawn due to “low usage “. 

If only.

Most are being reduced as a result of low patronage. This is part of a vicious circle. The locals wanted lower fares and SYPTE pushed operators to provide them at the same time as insisting on them renewing their fleets ahead of their planned time, this pushed the break even level up by a significant margin meaning a bus with for arguments sake 20 people on was breaking even then started making a loss as a result of lower fares and increased costs..

 

Bus Service Operators Grant was made the responsibility of SYPTE who had the option to pass it on to the operators as had been happening for years or retaining it to "use to enhance services" Neither has visibly happened.

 

Concessionary travel payments are at an all time low whilst the issue of concessionary travel passes is at an all time high. It is a fact now that a double deck bus running full of concessionary pass holders will run at a loss ! 

 

In some parts of the country, Firsts operations are being looked at by their management with a view to them buying them out. That is not even being thought about in South Yorkshire, Stagecoach are in the position where having been one of the driving forces in lowering fares must be deeply regretting their actions as they are barely breaking even as well.  TM Travel have significantly reduced their presence in the area. Get the picture? 

[Annie Bynnol 611]

Has the reduction in the number of ENCTS senior passes not made a difference yet?

[Pyrotequila 401]

14 hours ago, Resident said:

Stainforth Road stop isn't that far. Nice healthy walk... 

I already walk from the arena all the way up to Tinsley industrial estate...that's plenty far enough at 7am

 

The X10/X1 is most convenient because the partner works in town and we can drive into town in the morning, she goes and parks and I continue on the bus.

[Andy C 85]

23 minutes ago, Pyrotequila said:

I already walk from the arena all the way up to Tinsley industrial estate...that's plenty far enough at 7am

 

The X10/X1 is most convenient because the partner works in town and we can drive into town in the morning, she goes and parks and I continue on the bus.

The tram runs to Arena/Olympic Legacy Park, Valley Centertainment and Carbrook up to every 10 minutes from various City Centre stops such as West Street, Cathedral and Castle Square (Yellow route and Tram Train route).

 

The 65, 208 and X17 buses also run along Atterliffe Common alongside the X1, they run from Sheffield Interchange.  To Shepcote Lane there are a couple of bus services, albeit low frequency - the A1 and X74, from Sheffield Interchange. 

Buy a Citywide pass and you can get on any bus or tram in Sheffield.

 

I'm assuming the X1 is being reduced to half hourly between Sheffield and Meadowhall due to not being enough passengers to justify anything more on that section of route. It is just duplicating the tram service really. The busier bit from Meadowhall to Rotherham and Rotherham to Maltby will have a more frequent service.

Edited November 3, 2019 by Andy C

[Guest busdriver1]

13 hours ago, Annie Bynnol said:

Has the reduction in the number of ENCTS senior passes not made a difference yet?

What reduction is that? There are more senior pass holders now and lots more Mobility passes. Our population is getting to live longer in case you hadn't noticed.