Oliver Coppard Has A Vision ...
Currently we have seen artist's impressions of an orange bus ...
... we have seen one real bus ...
It looks very pretty ...
... but is hardly visionary!
... which (don't tell) isn't even a new bus.
It is from Yorkshire Traction at Barnsley.
But there is just one new bus stop plus shelter.
Thanks to Sheffield city council's policy of closing roads which people want to use and diverting buses to places where people DON'T want to go, stop RS3 is one of the least used stops in the city centre.
And, in a dynamic fbb exclusive, here is that very shelter ...
... c/w two vans and a lorry ...
... in the process of installation at Rockingham Street (RS3); RS1 and RS2 can be seen in their pre-shelter glory below!
Yet again, fbb brings you the exciting public transport news of the month!
Quite a lot of Olly's report is about improving train services - which is odd because the mayor has no authority (or money) to make any changes to the rail network.
fbb will take a quick look at Olly's Mayoral aspirations for the rail network in tomorrow's blog.
He does, of course have responsibility for the trams. This is what he promises.
But he doesn't actually tell us exactly what the "bigger network" will be under his citrus vision.
Most South Yorkshire council taxpayers will be interested in his envisioned rutaceae revolution.
Here is what is to come.
And there's more!
Again, there are no details, not even one example, of what is planned. Nor does the report even hazard a guess as to how journeys will be magically made "quicker".
But what may impress is Olly's timeline.
As you enjoy the excitement, ask yourself what is actually new and, more pertinently, what actual difference will the weary passenger notice - apart from orange buses.
That us what passengers are wondering in Manchester where the difference is yellow buses!
But here goes ...
From the passenger's point of view the only novelty is the promise of a new website site. What is the betting it will be the current Travel South Yorkshire site (which is OK) with orange bits?
Nothing radical apart from two sorts of e-bikes (e-bike competition??) and some wayfaring, whatever that may mean. We are not told what bit of franchising will "roll out" in parallel with the new buses.
DSA - Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Something else that does not fall directly into the Mayoral ambit.
Anything really visionary, yet?
Is that an extra 573 buses making a total of 903? That extra 3 must be very significant.
Evidence elsewhere suggests that franchising is harder than the Mayoral mind might imagine. Perhaps that 2029 is the year when the franchising team leaps into headless chicken mode?
The vision is becoming more diffuse and mostly rail which will probably be a job for others to do. But Olly expects his new trams - somewhat evasive at sometime in a five year timespan.
In the unlikely event of his continuing existence, fbb will be in his nineties and may lack the enthusiasm and ability to show much interest.
But will Olly still be there? It doesn't take too much vision to suppose plans might be changes as we enter the 2040s!
fbb is uncertain what "high capacity public transport routes" actually means. Someone should ask Mr Coppard to elucidate. Also, what exactly were NPR Phase 1 and NPR Phase 2?
We should be told!
Yes, fbb is cynical; but he has seen it all before.
Remember the Sheffield Bus Partnership?
Remember Buses for Sheffield ...
Remember the dynamic livery?
It looked even worse on double decks!
Did the city's passengers notice any difference?
They will probably notice orange buses; but will they notice any real difference in their travel experience?
A bit of Olly's rail aspirations in tomorrow's blog.
Next Variety blog : Saturday 21st March
