Sheffield Bus Partnership Consultation
20th June 2012
Two years ago, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive consulted widely about improving bus travel in the area.
As a result, First, Stagecoach, TM Travel , Sheffield Community Transport , Sheffield City Council and SYPTE have formed the Sheffield Bus Partnership and together have progressed plans for better bus services through network design changes and proposed new ticketing products. We plan to introduce these changes at the end of October 2012, the usual service change date. Before finalising the proposed changes, we are consulting stakeholders and customers about how they may be affected by these changes, whether they support them and whether they believe that such changes will encourage people to use the bus. The new offer to our customers includes: Better coordinated network to provide high quality, reliable and punctual services We propose that as many as ten service areas will have higher day time frequencies. Two evening services will become commercial and, overall, there will be new and better links to Supertram. There will be some new routes and also some areas where frequencies will be reduced or removed. We are still working to compensate for this where this may be possible. Full details of the proposed routes and all the changes can be found on the website www.sheffieldbuspartnership.co.uk. Here you will be able to see the changes, either by route or by specifying an area of Sheffield to view a map of the changes. Better value ticketing We are introducing better value tickets including a cheaper Sheffield CityWide day ticket. This ticket currently costs £5.00 and will be reduced in price by 14% to £4.30. The ticket allows 1 days unlimited travel on any bus or tram in Sheffield. In addition, longer term versions will be introduced including a 7 day ticket priced £17. Both the day and weekly tickets will be available for purchase from bus drivers and tram conductors. Within the consultation, we are also seeking opinion on a 60 minute transfer ticket, meaning that customers would have up to an hour between changing buses if a connection is necessary to complete their journey. As part of the ticketing proposition, we are looking to introduce -Smart technology for ticket recognition which, as well as being easier for the customer to use, will contribute to cutting waiting times and increasing punctuality. In addition to the revised network and new ticketing range, the Partnership is also working towards improving the bus fleet, looking at highway investment plans and opportunities to improve air quality. As a partnership, we believe that our new offer to customers will benefit the people of Sheffield and improve the city's sustainability. Our work to develop the revised bus services has focused resources on where we can make a difference to supporting sustained economic growth and increasing access to employment opportunities, as well as providing a better quality transport option for people with or without the use of a car. Maps of the proposed new routes and the questionnaire for feedback or available on the website www.sheffieldbuspartnership.co.uk. To minimise costs and help our carbon footprint we have not mailed out individual information packs. However, if you would prefer hard copies these are available at Travel Information Centres in Sheffield. We are very interested to people's views, on the proposed changes. The consultation runs from 18 June 14 July 2012. If you have any queries or would like more information, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Yours sincerely Gilly Greensitt External Relations Manager e-mail: sheffieldbuspartnership@sypte.co.uk