Bus Timetable Changes 31 October 2021

[Mr Bloke 1,445]

13 minutes ago, busdriver1 said:

You seem to be confusing frequency with reliability. 

Hmmm...

Well one of us is certainly confused...

 

... and it's not me!

You posted that reducing services improves reliability...

... so, reducing services to a minimum, must by your own logic therefore maximise reliability.

[driver151 27]

1 hour ago, Mr Bloke said:

Hmmm...

Well one of us is certainly confused...

 

... and it's not me!

You posted that reducing services improves reliability...

... so, reducing services to a minimum, must by your own logic therefore maximise reliability.

Put it like this, we are about 30-40 drivers short at our depot alone but was still operating on a normal service before this week so services was cancelled, we are reducing that to a number of services that the depot can handle at this moment in time, also be careful what u wish for reducing service 100%  that maybe coming soon, i have taken abuse today for the fact buses are missing not looking at the fact I am here driving mine I know it's rubbish but we can't magic new drivers from no where, for anyone on here that wants a job u know where to come 

[Guest busdriver1]

8 hours ago, driver151 said:

Put it like this, we are about 30-40 drivers short at our depot alone but was still operating on a normal service before this week so services was cancelled, we are reducing that to a number of services that the depot can handle at this moment in time, also be careful what u wish for reducing service 100%  that maybe coming soon, i have taken abuse today for the fact buses are missing not looking at the fact I am here driving mine I know it's rubbish but we can't magic new drivers from no where, for anyone on here that wants a job u know where to come 

will never happen, if  they did they could not then indulge in their favourite pass time.

[dutch 68]

I used to take a certain bus all the time and now walk 10 minutes towards a place where several buses come. It's a nice walk and compensates for reductions and delays. 

Also gives the option to ignore a full bus knowing there will be one with less people round the corner.

I do appreciate seeing less nearly empty buses back to back burning diesel fuel for nothing.

Some of the new drivers do not feel comfortable with buses you can see it in the way they drive and can take 25 minutes to do what a more experienced driver does in 15 minutes.

[Resident 1,185]

1 hour ago, dutch said:

I used to take a certain bus all the time and now walk 10 minutes towards a place where several buses come. It's a nice walk and compensates for reductions and delays. 

Also gives the option to ignore a full bus knowing there will be one with less people round the corner.

I do appreciate seeing less nearly empty buses back to back burning diesel fuel for nothing.

Some of the new drivers do not feel comfortable with buses you can see it in the way they drive and can take 25 minutes to do what a more experienced driver does in 15 minutes.

Nothing out of the ordinary there. I suspect each vehicle feels and drives different, even if it's the same make and model & they're not used to adapting quickly. 

[BigAl1 143]

15 hours ago, Mr Bloke said:

Hmmm...

What a load of nonsense!

 

Why not withdraw all the services then...

... reliability will be 100%?

back in the day of BR they used to say that if the got rid of the passengers then they could run a reliable railway!

[lawro 10]

Why not try a more radical approach that other large cities have tried and go for an integrated transport system. Perth in Western Australia created a number of hubs with spokes.  The main bus routes ran between the hubs and then out to outlying areas through spokes.  For example why do we continue to need buses going from the city centre to Hillsborough via Infirmary Road and Penistone Road when this is served by the tram.  People from Stannington, Loxley etc can be served by smaller buses or minivans (as in some European countries) from Hillsborough rather than 81, 82, 86 57 etc all going up the same road to the same destination.

Of course this would need co-operation between companies and that might be the sticking point.  At the moment we are given a couple of times a year changes (e.g reductions) in services which means that over the course of several years we end up with much fewer services.  I used to read on the side of buses the hashtag 'better buses for Sheffield' (I wonder).

I know this is a negative post but the same solutions keep being applied to the same old problems even though they do not work

[BigAl1 143]

And just where do you think we can find the people with the necessary skills and expertise to do this. Certainly not the mayor, certainly not anyone at SYPTE and certainly not the council. To do this you need people with vision, experience and of course the mandate.

 

goodness me Stagecoach can’t even connect the bus and trams at Middlewood or how to run the trams at even spaceing and not in pairs following each other.

 

anyone noticed the “one city one service “ slogan on some buses they already seem to think we have a great service 

[lawro 10]

The Universities have expertise in all areas or you could ask transport leaders of major European cities.

[Guest busdriver1]

25 minutes ago, lawro said:

The Universities have expertise in all areas or you could ask transport leaders of major European cities.

The universities are where current managers "learned" the business on the basis that what works in one area will work in another. 

That has not produced the best results. 

The best way forward is to listen to long time employees that are dedicated and experienced. 

Foreign cities do not run their transport systems to the same regulations that we do so their input would rarely be fruitful. 

[BigAl1 143]

12 hours ago, lawro said:

The Universities have expertise in all areas or you could ask transport leaders of major European cities.

One thing to remember about universities is that very often the academics are just that they are academics and do not often have hands on experience. Don't get me wrong I hold many of them in very high regard and they can certainly contribute especially in the area of identifying best practice but over the years I have have seen many flawed exercises coming out of universities as well the good in the transport sector. Ditto what may work well in Paris or London or wherever may not be suitable for Sheffield. What is needed at the end of the day is someone and an organisation that understands public transport AND Sheffield and has the vision to be able to design the service around the need of us

 

I agree with my friend the bus driver that you must consult the people on the ground who run the service on a day to day basis but not that they represent the solution. Part of the solution has to include looking at those regulations and taking the blinkers off. There is an enourmous wealth of information to be learnt from "abroad"

[Andy C 85]

21 hours ago, lawro said:

Why not try a more radical approach that other large cities have tried and go for an integrated transport system. Perth in Western Australia created a number of hubs with spokes.  The main bus routes ran between the hubs and then out to outlying areas through spokes.  For example why do we continue to need buses going from the city centre to Hillsborough via Infirmary Road and Penistone Road when this is served by the tram.  People from Stannington, Loxley etc can be served by smaller buses or minivans (as in some European countries) from Hillsborough rather than 81, 82, 86 57 etc all going up the same road to the same destination.

Of course this would need co-operation between companies and that might be the sticking point.  At the moment we are given a couple of times a year changes (e.g reductions) in services which means that over the course of several years we end up with much fewer services.  I used to read on the side of buses the hashtag 'better buses for Sheffield' (I wonder).

I know this is a negative post but the same solutions keep being applied to the same old problems even though they do not work

Already done!

 

Stocksbridge and Deepcar have a link bus that feeds into the tram at Middlewood.

 

Bradfield has a rural bus that operates a loop connecting with other buses/trams at Hillsborough.

 

This was also tried at Stannington (feeding in to the tram at Malin Bridge) and Killamarsh (feeding in to the tram at Crystal Peaks) but those services weren't very well used and were withdrawn - people seemed to prefer the convenience of a direct service into the City Centre even if it was less frequent.

Edited October 27, 2021 by Andy C