Michael_N

Looking at the new timetable guides, it would appear that the Purple Route will no longer run through to Meadowhall as this has disappeared from the network map - and is mentioned as having a "route and timetable" change from 25th October 2018. One thing I'd like to know is where is "Rotherham Parkgate" - there is no such area! It's like calling Meadowhall, "Sheffield Meadowhall" :loopy::hihi:

So basically the First day and weekly savers will be cheaper after the promotional period? And they are more frequent too (10 fast buses per hour vs. 3 trams per hour). Will be interesting to see how it goes and if it does indeed take off. First - South Yorkshire £5 daysaver/£20 weeksaver vs. Stagecoach - South Yorkshire £6.50 explorer/£22 megarider Gold.

Of course it wasn't designed properly. It was based on 1970s/1980s travel patterns and what was even more bizarre was the fact how it was routed along Infirmary Road (beside Kelvin Flats) and through Norfolk Park along Park Grange Road, to have all these high-rise flats and high-density residential areas vacated and eventually bulldozed. Very clever planning from Sheffield City Council that one! :hihi: Well in that case, should we rip up Meadowhall/Ikea/Valley Centertainment as they will be too far away from the city centre? Nunnery Square must be one of the most pointless P&Rs in the entire country, you even have to drive to Park Square to come back on yourself... :loopy:

First were 25 vehicles short and 29 drivers short for yesterday’s PM peak period alone. Shocking way to run a business and they they wonder why people are reverting back to cars and making alternative travel arrangements... A chocolate fire guard is of more use. Remember you can use the YourNextBus tracking service for live departures. This can be done both online or through texting your bus stop no. (370*****) to 64422 or METRO (63876). Online web address is http://yournextbus.wymetro.com/ Remember if it is a regular occurrence you can send your evidence/findings off to the Traffic Commissioner on Harehills Lane in Leeds who all operators are accountable for as this is who grants them the licence to run services - and if there is a failure to comply or they regularly fall below the criteria (95% of all trips need to be between 1 min early and 5 mins late from a timing point) then sanctions can be imposed upon the said company. Bus Users UK are also a good intermediating body to go through too, if you have complained and have received no response or an unsatisfactory response. Also look at First South Yorkshire’s Twitter page, nothing but complaint after complaint. Doesn’t portray their business very well and it’s no wonder that 95% of all their drivers look so miserable... No wonder they are struggling as a business with this simple lack of customer care!

Yes the ticket is for any 5 people. So 2 tickets can be used in conjunction. Just be aware it's NOT VALID on Supertram. ---------- Post added 12-09-2018 at 17:22 ---------- Yeah, people only seem to be aware of the most expensive fares and this is why bus companies gain negative comments and press articles. I think this is fantastic value personally as it works out as £1 per day for 5 adults travelling together - much cheaper than taking the car or a taxi! The ticket for the record as been going for over a year now, just seems to receive little if no advertisement.

I'm surprised that this hasn't had greater publicity than what it has done, but did you know that at weekends (all day Saturday & Sunday) up to 5 people (can be 5 adults or 5 children etc.) all travel for just £5 on the 'Five for a Fiver' group ticket on Stagecoach buses in Sheffield? Terms and conditions of this ticket: • Five for a Fiver ticket allows travel for up to any 5 people, adult or child to travel together all day on any Stagecoach bus in Sheffield. • Only available to buy and use on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays • Limited offer • The full ticket boundaries are: Entire route 1, 7, 7A, 25, 31, 31B, 35A, 52, 57, 71A, 83 (Sunday only), 83A, 86, 88, 120, 201, SL1 and SL1A Other service boundaries: - 2 Sheffield to Chapeltown, Norfolk Arms - 26 Crystal Peaks to Killamarsh, Norwood Crescent and Harthill - 26a Crystal Peaks to Killamarsh, Norwood Crescent and Harthill - 44 (Rotherham) Chapeltown Station to Chapeltown Norfolk Arms - 43, 44 Sheffield to Dronfield, The Three Tuns - 50 Sheffield to Eckington, Birk Hill Estate - 50A Sheffield to Marsh Lane - 53 Sheffield to Eckington Bus Station - 65 Meadowhall to The Fox House Inn - 71, 72 Sheffield to Spinkhill - 73 Pipworth Lane, Eckington to Crystal Peaks - 74 Spinkhill to Crystal Peaks - X17 Meadowhall Interchange to Sheffield and Meadowhead, Norton Hotel

Been going for years, just like you said not very well advertised. The FreeBee bus was only ever full of pensioners the majority of the time anyway, so makes sense to have these use the existing services as it's still free to travel. The only gripe I have with the council, is that in their conquest to kill the proper end of town, they have failed to extend the tram and improve the bus network to accommodate the move from Castlegate to Moorfoot. It's also sad to see the state of Castlegate at the moment - so depressing and needs some serious TLC. Hopefully the new developments around the former Primark building and Castle House/Co-Op will kickstart the regeneration. From looking at it, we might be waiting another decade until the former Court and Castle Markets areas even start to be developed/excavated though! :hihi:

I suggest you check your facts. The only thing that is occurring from 2 September is the fact that pre 0900 the service will not serve Bowden Wood Crescent in order to provide a more reliable service at peak times.

Bus operators do want to use Pond Street Bus Station, as this is where the main driver crew bases are located and it's a good transport hub, plus provides a place to stack vehicles. However, Sheffield City Council in their wisdom have slowly killed that end of town so much so, that footfall is very sparse and passengers no longer want to travel to here. It's so far from everything now - especially with the council intent on moving everything towards The Moor. The same can be said for the Supertram. Who in their mind would move the markets from one of the main transport hubs, to the other end of the city centre a mile away from the nearest tram stop? Plus many buses from the north and eastern end of the city tend to terminate around Pond Street and Castle Markets.

Anyone know if any of the recent planned developments are due to start soon, as this area is quickly becoming a ghost town and quite frankly an embarrassment to the city! This area has the main bus/coach station, trams and the railway station and yet has been left to rot, while all the investment has been pumped down towards The Moor and the rather drab (and failing?) Moor Markets. Considering this is where the vast majority of hotels are located, along with the coach/railway station and is also on the tram route and close to Ponds Forge where many visitors 1st experience Sheffield City Centre, it really does make you feel embarrassed at seeing the state it has become. Maybe something in the short term, could be new outdoor market stalls on Exchange Street beside where Shoezone and Castle Markets used to be, to try and create a bit of life in this once bustling shopping area - like what is currently in place on King Street. Regarding the developments I'm talking about the former Primark and Co-Op Department Store buildings - along with the other large empty shops around Waingate/Haymarket and Fitzalan Square. They (Sheffield City Council) even seem to be ruining Fitzalan Square, which with the new planned proposals will result in buses/taxis that use Haymarket and travel straight across towards Pond Street will now have to turn right onto Commercial Street before turning left onto Fitzalan Square - creating even more traffic congestion in this area - not to mention buses turning will not have enough swing and thus when turning right onto Angel Street will no doubt leave their rear end sticking out and blocking Commercial Street. Clever planning again from Sheffield City Council! :hihi:

Why would anyone want to come to a desolate <removed> city centre like Sheffield? We have Meadowhall for that, where you can remain cool in the summer or warm and dry in the winter, don't have beggars and spice heads lurking in every doorway and feel in a safe environment - with free parking and leisure facilities too. People drag down Meadowhall no end, but I don't think they realise just how much it attracts in investment and people coming to the area.

Council killed off the proper City Centre when they moved Castle Market down to The Moor. Our City Centre is a complete joke and laughing stock. I also feel embarrassed that all the major venues/infrastructure for visitors are in the proper end of town around Castlegate/Cathedral and that end of town has just been left to rot, especially since Castle market, Primark and other shops have vacated... Fargate looks to be going the same way now too!

Nothing wrong with Bradford. It has a far superior city centre than Sheffield has to offer. You not been lately around Broadway or City Park?

I say good on them for standing their ground, looks like it has paid off for them in the end. No one likes strike action, but for it to have got this far - something seriously must be wrong at Supertram. Have heard it been mentioned previously that it is very top heavy, with the ratio of managers to staff been something like 1:4. To say how much busier the trams are compared to buses (and presumably more profitable too) then looking at it on paper, 26p was a dismal offer and no wonder it was rejected so highly amongst their union members of staff.

Latest from Supertram: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/news/yorkshire/2018/july/st-strike-action?hootPostID=a9dc63b0712d6a93f5b062e22b8b463d

More strikes planned... http://www.unitetheunion.org/news/unite-calls-for-talks-as-more-strikes-loom-in-sheffield-tram-drivers-pay-dispute/

Can't say I'm at all surprised. I really hope that Leeds gets it, so that at least Yorkshire will still benefit, rather than Manchester which already has Media City UK (and is surely favourite to win?) as well as Birmingham.

Tramlines shares nothing but it's name with Supertram. So not sure why there is such public outcry over picking this weekend? This is exactly what the unions wanted. Maximum damage/impact. No point picking an average Saturday/Sunday when passenger numbers will be low anyway. Plus, of course, there are plentiful normal bus routes passing close to Hillsborough Park without including the tram replacement buses.

Interesting to note that Stagecoach are profiteering from their own strike and will be putting on 30 extra buses, but passengers will be charged £3 for a single ticket and no passes/concessions will be valid. :hihi: It does beg the question, why if they can fund this along with the daytime replacement buses, that they couldn't have avoided this situation and called the strike off by placing an acceptable offer to their staff. These additional drivers and vehicles that are coming from Manchester won't have come cheap! Details are available at: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/news/yorkshire/2018/july/st-buses-for-strike-action Also it appears that the trams in Manchester are now following Sheffield's lead and also voting for strike action over the August Bank Holiday/Manchester Pride weekend in late August. However they have been offered a 3.3% pay increase onto their already £29,000pa salary. When taking this into account, it's interesting to see why Supertram staff are voting overwhelmingly to strike when they are on a reported £23,000pa salary for drivers and £20,000pa salary for conductors... More on this can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-44893444

Not much in it to be honest, X1 runs direct through Attercliffe and X78 runs direct through Brightside. X1 goes from Eyre Street ES3 (Moor Markets), Charles Street CS3 (Genting Casino), Arundel Gate AG5 (Travel Centre), Castle Street CG22 (Hen and Chickens pub) or Wicker WK1 (Wicker Pharmacy). X78 goes from Interchange C3, Castle Street CG22 (Hen and Chickens pub) or Wicker WK1 (Wicker Pharmacy). Both take around 20 mins and are just as quick as the tram, depending on traffic - they are also cheaper than the tram for most tickets - including the £1.20 student single. X1s every 10 mins Monday to Saturday or 20 mins Sunday (daytimes) X78s every 15 mins Monday to Saturday or 20 mins Sunday (daytimes)

Of the trams that were running yesterday, were there any conductors working onboard? Looked to be free rides for all! Most of the replacement buses also seemed to be carting fresh air around, looked a complete waste of money and with the money they have spent drafting in these buses and drivers from Manchester and elsewhere around the UK, they could have actually paid their staff the increase they were asking for and avoided this situation fully. I suspect the same shambles of a service will take place again on Thursday? Hopefully this time some of the bus drivers will know where they are going, and not make up there own routes (one we was on to Meadowhall ended up running down the Parkway after he got lost!).

Presumably this is being run by scabs? It amazes me how they can pay all these extra drivers and buses from Manchester, and not paid the pay rise for their own workers. Like Busdriver1 said previously, Stagecoach are stubborn. Ah well, at least the bus operators can reap some of the rewards and cash in from these actions and traffic should be more free flowing through many places thanks to the trams not running!

Well look at the area it's located in, hardly unexpected been wedged between druggies on one side, and murderers on the other side...

Spoken like a true manager! You need to remember that employees tend to <removed> if they are treated like that. Give and take as you will. Like Mr Branson is famous for saying, if you treat your staff right, they will treat the customers right and do their jobs properly. If it is however micromanaged like many businesses these days, they tend to have an agenda and <removed> about things regarding the company to everyone, even the customers. Staff morale will also be low as will work productivity and attitude etc.

Simple answer: NO. Complex answer: Monday to Saturday 7am until 11am and then 3pm until 7pm are the hours in operation. Remember Bank Holiday Mondays/Good Friday etc. all fall within the normal Monday to Saturday operational times...