At September’s meeting of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Change Committee, Green Councillors have raised concerns over the deteriorating bus services being experienced by many local people in Sheffield.
Councillor Alexi Dimond, Deputy Chair of the Transport, Environment and Climate Change Committee said,
“The bus cuts and changes to services this September have made an already poor service worse. The communication has been shambolic. Many bus stops are still advertising services which no longer exist.
“The withdrawal of the number 11 bus on Gleadless Road means that many residents of Heeley Green, Newfield Green and parts of Arbourthorne do not have a viable bus service.
“The impact on older residents without access to a car is particularly stark. In Heeley and Newfield Green, 70% of pensioners who live alone do not have a car. In neighbouring Arbourthorne, the figure is 81%. The loss of the bus services means they will be trapped at home at a time when the Winter Fuel Allowance is going to be withdrawn.
“It is vital that the bus companies are held to account and the South Yorkshire Mayor moves forward with franchising or public ownership. Funding plans must be urgently brought forward so Sheffield and South Yorkshire can have an affordable, reliable, accessible and clean bus service fit for the 21st century.”
City Ward Councillor Ruth Mersereau, who is also a member of the Committee, said,
“Public transport is an equality issue that disproportionately affects women, those people in poverty and people with a disability. Roughly a third of Sheffield households have no access to a vehicle. They are now being offered a third class service or no service at all.
“Offering such a scant service at night doesn’t help the night-time economy nor leisure industries, which are key to the regeneration of the city centre. Poor bus services don’t help people who finish work in the city centre after 6pm. There is a real lack of communication about these changes to bus services.”
