South Yorkshire Bus Service Needs Improvement

[NERVY-OWL]

1 hour ago, Resident said:

The problem is, yet again the bus industry has been forgotten about by the media. 

During Covid, when they were the ones risking their health and their families health, making sure key workers could still get to/from work they weren't mentioned much (apart from London) in the press. They weren't offered the freebies and discounts etc. 

Now we have driver shortages in professional categories but yet again the media once again ignores the bus industry and focuses on the HGVs. 

ALL bus companies are struggling as drivers are leaving in droves, largely because HGV companies are offering big money sign-on bonuses and inflated wages so PCV drivers are taking the opportunity because they're already used to large vehicles.

As much as I'd like us bus drivers to be allowed to drive HGV on our licence it would be a disaster for the bus industry if the government had allowed it as I know alot drivers that would of gone onto drive trucks over buses if they could.

Already losing alot of experienced drivers at our place and can't replace them quick enough or alot of new starters last days before quitting.

 

 

[Mr Bloke]

1 hour ago, Resident said:

The problem is, yet again the bus industry has been forgotten about by the media. 

During Covid, when they were the ones risking their health and their families health, making sure key workers could still get to/from work they weren't mentioned much (apart from London) in the press. They weren't offered the freebies and discounts etc. 

Now we have driver shortages in professional categories but yet again the media once again ignores the bus industry and focuses on the HGVs. 

ALL bus companies are struggling as drivers are leaving in droves, largely because HGV companies are offering big money sign-on bonuses and inflated wages so PCV drivers are taking the opportunity because they're already used to large vehicles.

Hmmm...

So where are all these bus drivers going?

 

Before any wag says it, yes I suppose I could check their route timetables.

 

I didn't think bus drivers needed a HGV licence...

 

... so I hope any of them that are currently training for their HGV licence realise that they might need to travel a bit further in their working day than they currently do...

 

... and that they also remember that they don't need to pull in at every bus stop!

 

Not that that should be a problem for some who seem to have been practising for some time now...

[ads36]

Re Pinstone Street, and the affected buses.

 

There are plans in progress to work on Arundel Gate - including bus stops

 

There are plans in progress to work on Rockingham street - including bus stops, and 'Pound Park'.

 

in other words, they haven't finished yet (they've barely started).

 

for once, can we finish something, and give it a go, before we decide it's rubbish?

 

(see Castlegate, it's really nice! - does anyone want the buses back along there?)

Edited September 21, 2021 by ads36

[Mr Bloke]

6 minutes ago, ads36 said:

Re Pinstone Street, and the affected buses.

 

There are plans in progress to work on Arundel Gate - including bus stops

 

There are plans in progress to work on Rockingham street - including bus stops, and 'Pound Park'.

 

in other words, they haven't finished yet (they've barely started).

 

for once, can we finish something, and give it a go, before we decide it's rubbish?

 

(see Castlegate, it's really nice! - does anyone want the buses back along there?)

Hmmm...

I suppose people are just trying to save the Council a bit of time and money...

[ads36]

1 hour ago, Mr Bloke said:

Hmmm...

I suppose people are just trying to save the Council a bit of time and money...

The money for all this is coming from Central Government : Transforming Cities Fund, etc. (there are a few of these around right now, including the fund that being spent on Fargate : 'Future Highstreet' iirc)

 

And the government have been clear : councils that faff about, half-doing a job then changing their mind and going backwards, will not be considered in future funding rounds.

 

you may or may not like the pedestrianisation of Pinstone street, but at this late stage, going backwards will cost Sheffield tens of millions of future regeneration money.

 

(likely even reducing the funding for current projects)

Edited September 21, 2021 by ads36

[BigAl1]

1 hour ago, ads36 said:

The money for all this is coming from Central Government : Transforming Cities Fund, etc. (there are a few of these around right now, including the fund that being spent on Fargate : 'Future Highstreet' iirc)

 

And the government have been clear : councils that faff about, half-doing a job then changing their mind and going backwards, will not be considered in future funding rounds.

 

you may or may not like the pedestrianisation of Pinstone street, but at this late stage, going backwards will cost Sheffield tens of millions of future regeneration money.

 

(likely even reducing the funding for current projects)

All the more reason to plan properly at the outset.

 

of course it doesn’t matter if it is a bad project as long as the free money is spent 

[ads36]

45 minutes ago, BigAl1 said:

of course it doesn’t matter if it is a bad project as long as the free money is spent 

Pinstone street isn't a 'bad project' - there's a lot to like.

 

it would be utterly disingenuous to claim that it was all bad.

 

let's remember that they haven't even nearly finished yet. it's basically a building site.

Edited September 21, 2021 by ads36

[Mr Bloke]

10 minutes ago, ads36 said:

Pinstone street isn't a 'bad project' - there's a lot to like.

 

it would be utterly disingenuous to claim that it was all bad.

 

let's remember that they haven't even nearly finished yet. it's basically a building site.

Hmmm...

Well let's just hope you're right...

... and that's not the 'look' the Council were aiming for!

[ads36]

25 minutes ago, Mr Bloke said:

Well let's just hope you're right...

that's the spirit!

 

we're being given free money to try something, something that really does appear to work wherever it's tried.

 

Is anyone calling for Fargate, Castlegate, etc. to be re-opened? 

 

Or, slightly further affield, York. York is a lovely day out, and the centre is almost entirely pedestrianised. Let's have a bit of that, do it properly, give it a fair go.

 

We're being given money to do it, and it works.

 

[Resident]

1 hour ago, ads36 said:

that's the spirit!

 

we're being given free money to try something, something that really does appear to work wherever it's tried.

 

Is anyone calling for Fargate, Castlegate, etc. to be re-opened? 

 

Or, slightly further affield, York. York is a lovely day out, and the centre is almost entirely pedestrianised. Let's have a bit of that, do it properly, give it a fair go.

 

We're being given money to do it, and it works.

 

It's also almost entirely flat with very little elevation change in comparison.

(Not so scientific) Clicking on an elevation map randomly 15 times showed an elevation of between 6m & 25m above sea-level for York centre, giving a delta of 19m

15 random clicks of Sheffield city centre shows between 53m and 105m, giving a delta of 52m.