Tram pricing after March (Read 1,171 times)

[teapot42]

I don't suppose anyone has heard anything about what the new fares will be once Stagecoach no longer run the tram?

I've asked TSY but they just keep saying it will be announced in the next few days, a week passes, I ask again, rinse and repeat.

My wife currently uses the X17 to Sheffield then tram to Uni so will be affected once Stagecoach tickets are no longer valid, and with Chesterfield being outside the area there are no other passes available which will be valid.

Probably going to have to look at options using the 120 with a longer walk but it's frustrating that basic things like prices and validity still aren't in place less than a month before things change.

As an aside, I'd quite like to see similar to what Manchester do with a 'City' zone which is free (or cheap) to holders of other transport tickets. Manchester do it free to local train ticket holders, but Sheffield could do say 50p for anyone who has a bus or train ticket valid to Sheffield. That would encourage more use of the tram, while the loss of validity for Stagecoach tickets is likely to push some users in to cars instead.

[littlenipper]

Feb 29, 2024 16:42:34 GMT teapot42 said:

I don't suppose anyone has heard anything about what the new fares will be once Stagecoach no longer run the tram?

I've asked TSY but they just keep saying it will be announced in the next few days, a week passes, I ask again, rinse and repeat.

My wife currently uses the X17 to Sheffield then tram to Uni so will be affected once Stagecoach tickets are no longer valid, and with Chesterfield being outside the area there are no other passes available which will be valid.

Probably going to have to look at options using the 120 with a longer walk but it's frustrating that basic things like prices and validity still aren't in place less than a month before things change.

As an aside, I'd quite like to see similar to what Manchester do with a 'City' zone which is free (or cheap) to holders of other transport tickets. Manchester do it free to local train ticket holders, but Sheffield could do say 50p for anyone who has a bus or train ticket valid to Sheffield. That would encourage more use of the tram, while the loss of validity for Stagecoach tickets is likely to push some users in to cars instead.

There is already a city centre service like in Manchester called Sheffield connect run by south pennine which is free if you have the following passes
Tram bus or train ticket if you don't have any of them tickets it's £1.00 flat fare.

[teapot42]

I wonder if you are confusing the Manchester Free Bus network with the Manchester Central Zone? The latter includes travel on trams within a defined area.

Aside from this, the Sheffield Connect service covers a very narrow area and is useless to commuters as it doesn't start until well after the morning peak.

[Mainline]

Mar 1, 2024 10:30:52 GMT teapot42 said:

I wonder if you are confusing the Manchester Free Bus network with the Manchester Central Zone? The latter includes travel on trams within a defined area.

Aside from this, the Sheffield Connect service covers a very narrow area and is useless to commuters as it doesn't start until well after the morning peak.

And its entire route is covered by other routes, complete waste of taxpayers money.

[63384]

Feb 29, 2024 16:42:34 GMT teapot42 said:

I don't suppose anyone has heard anything about what the new fares will be once Stagecoach no longer run the tram?

I've asked TSY but they just keep saying it will be announced in the next few days, a week passes, I ask again, rinse and repeat.

My wife currently uses the X17 to Sheffield then tram to Uni so will be affected once Stagecoach tickets are no longer valid, and with Chesterfield being outside the area there are no other passes available which will be valid.

Probably going to have to look at options using the 120 with a longer walk but it's frustrating that basic things like prices and validity still aren't in place less than a month before things change.

As an aside, I'd quite like to see similar to what Manchester do with a 'City' zone which is free (or cheap) to holders of other transport tickets. Manchester do it free to local train ticket holders, but Sheffield could do say 50p for anyone who has a bus or train ticket valid to Sheffield. That would encourage more use of the tram, while the loss of validity for Stagecoach tickets is likely to push some users in to cars instead.

Your wife may be better off with the bus if going to UOS, depending on which campus she studies at. The 120 will take her from opposite the Interchange up to the student union. Alternatively, the 257 will take her from the interchange up to Perak Laboratories.

[teapot42]

[Source] 63384 said:

Your wife may be better off with the bus if going to UOS, depending on which campus she studies at. The 120 will take her from opposite the Interchange up to the student union. Alternatively, the 257 will take her from the interchange up to Perak Laboratories.

She would be if ticketing was better, unfortunately she comes in via Stagecoach X17 and the best bus option would be the First 95. This actually stops outside the department she teaches at. The Stagecoach 10a does call there as well but it's only hourly. The 52 might also be an option, more of a walk but at least it's Stagecoach and fairly frequent.

One problem is that her department doesn't have many large teaching spaces so she often lectures in other buildings. The tram is nice and central to all the options (Diamond and Pam Liversedge mainly) while different buses would work better depending where she is.

If connections where better at Baslow (and things were more reliable!) then the 257 wouldn't be such a bad option. A short walk gets us to the 170 but the connections are either too tight or timings don't work. In some ways I did think Hulleys would have been better keeping the 257 2-hourly and running a 2-hourly service from Chesterfield rather than Bakewell which followed a similar route. We don't have a service deep in to the Peak District without having to change and it would give Eyam, Grindleford etc the option to come to Chesterfield for shopping as well as Sheffield or Bakewell.

I also think it would be useful if Stagecoach extended some peak hours X17s up towards the Uni and Hospital as it would give better connections with that side of Sheffield without the need to change buses, but that's from a passenger convenience perspective which isn't their strong point. While in some ways it is sensible to have the main bus station next to the Railway Station, when that isn't very central to the city it means many are unlucky enough to not have direct buses to the part of town they need to be at.

[teapot42]

Just to follow up on my OP, I've just asked Travel SY and they have confirmed the pricing for the new operator is still undecided.

I mean, it's only 10 days until the change happens and lots of people have no idea how much they are going to have to pay, what's the problem?

I only hope this isn't a sign of things to come for the network.

[63384]

Mar 13, 2024 9:27:33 GMT teapot42 said:

Just to follow up on my OP, I've just asked Travel SY and they have confirmed the pricing for the new operator is still undecided.

I mean, it's only 10 days until the change happens and lots of people have no idea how much they are going to have to pay, what's the problem?

I only hope this isn't a sign of things to come for the network.

It will be. This is how MCA run ventures work. Shoddy and incompetent. Stagecoach have been very organised at informing passengers of the changes with the limited information they have. And people still want to bring buses in to public ownership?!

[teapot42]

What is so frustrating is you go to the likes of Germany, France, Austria etc and see just how well these networks *can* be run, then you look at the pitiful provision here...

I don't agree with how Stagecoach manage marginal routes, but on the whole they actually seem to do a fairly good job.

[The Captain]

It's got to be able to fund itself, price passengers off it, onto Buses still running on Saturday frequencies and rely on Buses when either the infrastructure fails, the 30 year old Trams finally become unusable or the Herdings and Malin Bridge spurs get mothballed to save cash.
It could be a beautiful system with bags of potential but at what cost?.

[teapot42]

Depends how you define cost, and what funding is available for improvements.

Getting people out of cars and on to trams will reduce wear and tear on the roads so there is a cost saving there, plus the health benefits of cleaner air and less traffic for those who refuse (or can't) change modes.

In this country we are too quick to look at costs in isolation without seeing the bigger picture.

As for improvements, things like a park and ride to the south of the city would do a lot to reduce traffic. The Herdings line could easily be extended to Lowedges and possibly beyond - I'm not clear enough on the topography as to whether going all the way to Dore and Totley is viable. A nice big park and ride just south of Bowshaw roundabout with train and tram connections could take a load of traffic off the A61 corridor as well as other routes in that area.