Every 10 Minutes, Seven Days A Week (3)

 Mutterings About The Map!

The Sheffield Connect minibus, running every ten minutes SEVEN days a week starts from stand B1 at the bus station (sorry, Sheffield Interchange - although less and less services call there to interchange) as photographed here being seen off by a couple of Councillors.

It isn't a Free Bee although no one seems very keen to tell potential passengers who will actually pay a fare! But the Green Party seems to have hi-jacked the "launch" publicity.

Or lack of it!

Well done Doug. Were there any real genuine passengers?

Of course not, because real genuine passengers know nothing about the service thanks to a dearth of meaningful publicity.

If you know a bit about Sheffield, either today or in the past, you would expect a Shoppers Shuttle to serve the main shopping areas ...

... by running up High Street where be loadsa shops, and on past the Cathedral.

Except it doesn't. 

It stops on Arundel Gate and a near lethal road crossing away from the High Street, then skulks round the back via Norfolk Street. Much is made of the stop serving the Theatres (Crucible left, Lyceum ahead) ...

... which are, except for special events, resolutely closed when the bus is running! Note the timetable NOT in the frame! (Bus and stop pictures below from Roy, many thanks.)

But it is about misplaced political dogma. The Councillors, most of whom do not travel by bus (heaven forfend that they should ever sink so low!) were so keen to close Pinstone Street (left at the clutter) ...

... that the route away from the shops was chosen as the only way to get a bus stop to the very end of the closed street. See, there a pole, flag and sign telling you it is a bus stop, all set in a huge concrete block.

The only way to get from there to the rest of the city's shops on the Moor is then by a circuitous ramble round less than pleasant back streets almost totally lacking in any retail opportunity..

The stop on Pinfold street is currently papered over ...

... and the lavishly appointed stops on Carver Street ...

... (note the "Alighting Only" label) and Rockingham Street ...

... were still Sheffield Connect anonymous from day 1.

Whatever happened to the promised Rockingham Street bus "hub" and it's associated bijou urban park?

The whole thing is a bit of a botched job!

The stop on Rockingham Street is too far from the shops ...

... and there should be a stop on Charter Row.

Of course, a genius like fbb could solve ALL these problems "at a stroke", with no desire for a lavish consultation fee.

Just turn left rather than right at the Town Hall ...

... and run the service via Pinstone Street (GREEN)

But no; stubborn political dogma rules OK and the Council is NOT having nasty buses along Pinstone street ever again.

Even if it offends Council bigotry, putting the service that way is what the passengers want, it is what the bus company wants and it is what the Pinstone Street traders want. But then this is democracy, innit?

Even better, put all the buses back and you don't have to waste resources on the expensive-to-run Sheffield Connect!

And while you are at it, Councillors, take a look at the timetable.

No, look more closely.

Does any one really think you can get a busy bus from the Surrey Street Town Hall stop to Moor Market, all round those wiggly back streets ...

... crossing the busy tram route TWICE and waiting for innumerable sets of traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, in just FOUR MINUTES?

What planet are the schedulers on?

It would be a challenge to keep to time if the roads were empty, if there were no other buses waiting to get on the stops and no passengers wanted to board or alight; but otherwise fbb reckons EIGHT minutes would be a wise running time.

Four minutes might just be workable (on a quiet day) if the bus ran via Pinstone Street???

No problem; the buses are far from busy!

And Finally ...

The above email was received in the fbb office and read post apple crumble (super delicious from Mrs fbb) at about 1800 yesterday. It is from John, another Sheffield correspondent. 

STI = "Sheffield Transport Interchange" - i.e. the bus station.

Presumably the temporary bus stops do not have departure lists in the frames because they do not exist on the "confuser", so the PTE's contractors are unable to update them!

John does, however, confirm that there is very little likelihood of anyone paying the £1 fare. Maybe a Tesco receipt or a car park ticket would do if your bus ticket has blown away in a Sheffield breeze.

Or perhaps print your own?

P.S. Apologies for delayed posting yesterday morning. fbb forgot to press the "go, go, go" button before beddybyes the previous evening.

 Next Village blog : Thursday 4th August