South Yorkshire Bus Service Needs Improvement

[butlers 261]

Fighting the ease of car travel and a 40 percent cut in funding has hobbled the SYPTE

[RollingJ 2,041]

1 minute ago, butlers said:

Fighting the ease of car travel and a 40 percent cut in funding has hobbled the SYPTE

You're not an ex-councillor by any chance?

[butlers 261]

Figures are on public record.

I use trams and buses everyday and old enough to remember the 10p flat fare.

Point to point day fares are horrific poor value but the passes are great value,I am happy with the service

 

[RollingJ 2,041]

You are then - an expert at deflecting direct questions.

 

Please therefore answer, constructively, post #217.

[RollingJ 2,041]

Why am I not surprised  'butlers' has gone amazingly quiet?🙂

[butlers 261]

Listening to the football actually

[RollingJ 2,041]

As I said before, nice deflection, but only to be expected.

[Annie Bynnol 612]

BSOG funds are allocated under Government directives and formulae which have changed and resulted in money away from bus companies. 

Claims that Sheffield CC or our PTE has control over these formulae that is used to payback bus companies has  been repeated and refuted on more than one thread on this forum.

 

Separately, any information that the audited accounts have been falsely prepared and/or public funds have been misused, should be reported to the Police, relevant Ombudsman or whistleblower site.

[RollingJ 2,041]

6 minutes ago, Annie Bynnol said:

BSOG funds are allocated under Government directives and formulae which have changed and resulted in money away from bus companies. 

Claims that Sheffield CC or our PTE has control over these formulae that is used to payback bus companies has  been repeated and refuted on more than one thread on this forum.

 

Separately, any information that the audited accounts have been falsely prepared and/or public funds have been misused, should be reported to the Police, relevant Ombudsman or whistleblower site.

As I assume the emboldened bit was aimed at my comments - note an earlier answer to another poster indicated the comment was not to be taken (too) seriously.

[Resident 1,193]

5 hours ago, Andy C said:

  1. I'm not entirely convinced Leopold Street/Pinstone Street was necessary for the Covid initiative - mostly wide pavements and traffic was already mostly just bikes and buses.

 

In the longer term pedestrianisation of it all except for a cycle lane may well make the area a much nicer place to be.

 

 2. It could even be argued that given most of the shopping  is now refocused around the Moor and Devonshire Quarter that there is less demand for travel to that part of the City Centre.

 

My bigger issue is the council whilst claiming to promote green methods of travel they seem to be downgrading public transport facilities and encouraging people to travel by car instead. There seems to be no integration of public transport facilities in the planning of these changes and absolutely no interest from the council in supporting a quality public transport experience in Sheffield.

 

It is now almost a year since they closed Leopold Street and Pinstone Street to buses. This for a number of routes were the main City Centre bus stops with decent bus shelters where waiting passengers were seperate to general pedestrians on a wide pavement, they were in a busy, well lit and relatively safe area, the bus stops had electronic live departure boards and timetable displays along with network maps on the shelter.

 

A week after the road closed the bus gate for the diverted buses at Moorhead was opened but the far from ideal diversion via Charter Row where buses are squeezing down a small, potholed road with narrow dimly lit pavements to stop at temporary stops that consisted of a little sign kicked to the edge of the path in an unpleasant area inhabited by beggars, druggies and alcoholics.

 

3. So what has happened in the last year or so since? Have the council and SYPTE worked together to improve bus facilities on the Pinstone Street replacement on Charter Row by resurfacing the road, modifying the layout, installing bus shelters, improving lighting and fitting electronic bus information screens to the stops? No - they've done nothing, and now they've diverted the diversion and moved the temporary stops to an even less attractive location and routed buses on even less suitable roads!

 

4. There is some proposal that has been consulted to change the top of Rockingham Street so buses can run both ways and actually have proper bus stops (attached to a pocket park) replacing the ones by the Peace Gardens, not sure how many years away this is still - and these new stops are still rather a long way from the original location on Pinstone Street!

 

5. You think councillors trying to get elected that are campaigning on buses, including the Greens that claim to have identified £1.5m in their proposed budget that can be invested in buses, would be pushing for the bus route / bus stops etc to be improved and maybe also look at gaps in the network in the suburbs/villages but no, they aren't interested in making travel to and from the City Centre by bus more attractive, they want a pointless free bus trundling around the City Centre duplicating existing services the council have downgraded. Presumably the benefit of the free bus is to help all those car drivers (that have given up on public transport because of the council easily) get to/from their many car parks.

1. It wasn't necessary for the reasons you've said. They could have just made it a bus only route if there was a need to reduce traffic
 

2. From what I  am told from transport employees, complaints about not being able to get to the area, mostly from elderly or infirm went through the roof. 

When everything fully reopens the businesses around that area aren't going to see a return to previous revenues as there will be less footfall and the people of Sheffield will be moaning that there are more shops shut in the city centre

 

3. Council and SYPTE never work together. SYPTE sold a contract for bus stop maintainence etc to an advertising company. That contract will be for existing stops not new ones and the contractor isn't likely to want to spend building new ones. The route diversions are a secondary thought. SYPTE have previously told companies to take buses down roads/routes that are simply not traversable by such size vehicles. 

4. Changing Rockingham street to 2 ways for buses is an absolute farce of a proposal. Currently buses exiting onto West street struggle because the turn is so tight. Imagine one bus waiting to exit and one wants to turn down. 

5. That free bus is probably going to cost more than 1.5m to operate. I assuming it'll be a tendered route given to a smaller operator. 

[RollingJ 2,041]

Good answers, @Resident - I wonder if ex-councillor 'butlers' will take them into account when (if) he replies?

[butlers 261]

The free bus service is costed at less than a half million a year running cost.