January 2020 Bus Service Changes

[dutch 68]

I am on a 76 bus now on London rd going into town all seats are taken and people are standing. Two in the afternoon, not exactly rush hour. 

This is not something unusual.

It is taking longer at stops now as well with these busy busses. 

In other countries I have been they have separate ticket conductors on such busy lines. And buses with doors on front and middle.

[Retro Queen 1]

7 hours ago, Andy C said:

First have a special offer from 1st to 10th February for those that buy First bus only weekly tickets to say sorry for the level of cancellations over the last few months... Buy a Sheffield 7 day FirstWeek ticket and get 14 days of travel plus use of services in Rotherham too. See here for details:  https://www.firstgroup.com/south-yorkshire/news-and-service-updates/news/free-travel-customers-recognition-recent-disruption.

 

Obviously that doesn't benefit those that buy Citywide passes that include the use of other bus companies and trams but I guess Citywide ticket holders weren't as badly affected if there is choice of alternative services.

I've seen this and its good. First only run on my route but I get a City Wide pass because I can't rely on First and would rather walk further to get a Stagecoach but I do use First when coming home from work as I'm not so much in a rush then so could I benefit from this offer?

5 hours ago, dutch said:

I am on a 76 bus now on London rd going into town all seats are taken and people are standing. Two in the afternoon, not exactly rush hour. 

This is not something unusual.

It is taking longer at stops now as well with these busy busses. 

In other countries I have been they have separate ticket conductors on such busy lines. And buses with doors on front and middle.

Bring back conductors. We never had these issues when we had conductors on buses before.

[Resident 1,185]

9 hours ago, Andy C said:

Obviously that doesn't benefit those that buy Citywide passes that include the use of other bus companies and trams but I guess Citywide ticket holders weren't as badly affected if there is choice of alternative services.

Citywide and Citybus aren't First tickets, they're SYPTE/Travelmaster so First have have no control or influence in creating 'promotions' on them. 

[catmiss 12]

Well done First for attempting to appease customer dissatisfaction with free ticket and 3 months delay in reviewing price rises. In my opinion doesn’t  make up for months of appalling service or promise any future improvements 

[Spiderplant 0]

My complaint is on the ticket prices. The increase from £2.00 to £2.10 to go to town is fair enough and that is my normal route.  But I got on past Hunters Bar on the 88 going to Bents Green and discovered it was still £2.10 from there, and indeed for several stops up towards Banner Cross.  It used to be £1.10. Surely there should be more fare stages? It's almost one price regardless of distance. 

[Andy C 85]

19 hours ago, Spiderplant said:

My complaint is on the ticket prices. The increase from £2.00 to £2.10 to go to town is fair enough and that is my normal route.  But I got on past Hunters Bar on the 88 going to Bents Green and discovered it was still £2.10 from there, and indeed for several stops up towards Banner Cross.  It used to be £1.10. Surely there should be more fare stages? It's almost one price regardless of distance. 

That's a Stagecoach service, you can check the fares on the online journey planner at stagecoachbus.com.

 

There has been a move towards reducing the number of fares in general (and places that have 'tap and cap' system like London have a flat fare) to make things simpler, however many Sheffield routes also have a maximum fare offer where the longer journeys are cheaper than they otherwise would be.

[Andy C 85]

On 31/01/2020 at 19:02, Retro Queen said:

I've seen this and its good. First only run on my route but I get a City Wide pass because I can't rely on First and would rather walk further to get a Stagecoach but I do use First when coming home from work as I'm not so much in a rush then so could I benefit from this offer?

Bring back conductors. We never had these issues when we had conductors on buses before.

Conductors are a bit of an outdated concept on buses now, the modern way is for people to embrace buying smart card season tickets online or smartphone app tickets rather than delaying the bus by buying a paper ticket from the driver for every journey.

 

If you buy Citywide you won't benefit from this offer, its is just for those who buy tickets exclusively for First buses, their "captive audience" as it were!

[Ms Macbeth 70]

4 hours ago, Andy C said:

Conductors are a bit of an outdated concept on buses now, the modern way is for people to embrace buying smart card season tickets online or smartphone app tickets rather than delaying the bus by buying a paper ticket from the driver for every journey.

 

If you buy Citywide you won't benefit from this offer, its is just for those who buy tickets exclusively for First buses, their "captive audience" as it were!

If pass holders of any type got priority when getting on buses, it might speed up the process. Always being last to get on might encourage more passengers to get passes, smart card or otherwise. 😉  It would also give passengers who like to wait til the bus comes before soeting out their money time to have it ready when they get on instead of holding up the queue. 🙄

[Retro Queen 1]

8 hours ago, Andy C said:

Conductors are a bit of an outdated concept on buses now, the modern way is for people to embrace buying smart card season tickets online or smartphone app tickets rather than delaying the bus by buying a paper ticket from the driver for every journey.

 

If you buy Citywide you won't benefit from this offer, its is just for those who buy tickets exclusively for First buses, their "captive audience" as it were!

The trams have conductors. Also people buying bus pass on the bus holds up the queue.

 

My route is just served by First but because of the appalling service, I walk down to Penistone Road when I'm going to work as relying solely on First would make me late on a regular basis so I buy the City Wide pass so as I can use Stagecoach also. I still feel people like myself should still get a discount from First because if the service was better we wouldn't have to rely on Stagecoach.

Edited February 2, 2020 by Retro Queen

[Resident 1,185]

1 hour ago, Retro Queen said:

I still feel people like myself should still get a discount from First because if the service was better we wouldn't have to rely on Stagecoach.

As I previously stated, Citybus/wide tickets are not under the perview of First. They are SYPTE tickets which operators have agreed to accept & sell. 

 

First nor Stagecoach have the authority to make any changes to pricing without the express permission of SYPTE, which they are unwilling to give. 

 

YOU choose to walk beyond necessary. 

[Retro Queen 1]

1 hour ago, Resident said:

As I previously stated, Citybus/wide tickets are not under the perview of First. They are SYPTE tickets which operators have agreed to accept & sell. 

 

First nor Stagecoach have the authority to make any changes to pricing without the express permission of SYPTE, which they are unwilling to give. 

 

YOU choose to walk beyond necessary. 

How do you mean I choose to walk beyond necessary?

 

If the 98 was more reliable then I would catch it at the end of my road, but unfortunately it is not so what choice do I have apart from be late for work every day?

 

First IS  a rubbish service, that's why the manager is apologising for the service and trying to make amends.