Bus operators in Sheffield unveil plan to halt falling passenger numbers, including Tube-style map and coordinated timetables

A new London Tube-style map plotting high-frequency routes around Sheffield and the connections between different services is at the heart of efforts to simplify bus travel.

Timetables will also be coordinated to include all services, regardless of which company operates them.

And providers will work more closely when planning to alter routes or timings, to ensure there are fewer, more coordinated service changes in future.

These measures are part of a major re-branding operation to unify services within the city under the name 'Buses for Sheffield'.

The new name and logo will soon be displayed on all buses and bus stops in the city, to help people more easily identify which services they can use with a combined ticket and to provide a single point of contact to report issues ranging from cleanliness to punctuality.

A 'pick and mix' advertising campaign is also being launched to highlight how passengers can easily make a single journey using two or more buses operated by different providers.

Matt Davies, Stagecoach Yorkshire's chief executive, said: "Having a common identity and making the network easier for people to understand is key to growing bus patronage.

"The city has a very good bus network but the perception will be that some are First, some are Stagecoach and others are TM Travel.

"If people get used to seeing the network map it raises awareness that the city's very well covered between the different operators."

Buses for Sheffield comprises the members of the Sheffield Bus Partnership, which was formed in 2012 to improve services in the city: First South Yorkshire, Stagecoach, Sheffield Community Transport, Sheffield Council, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) and TM Travel.

Passenger journeys on Sheffield's buses fell by 2.3 per cent last year, from 55.5 million to 54.3m, compared with an average fall across Britain of 1.7 per cent.

However, the number of journeys made by fare-faying passengers during the 12 months to last November was 1.3m more than in the same period five years ago.

Buses in Sheffield have often been in the news for the wrong reasons in recent months, with complaints about litter-strewn vehicles, services being disrupted by vandalism and bad parking, and anger over timetables being changed without public consultation.

Mr Davies, speaking on behalf of the partnership, said he recognised consultation 'needs to improve' and claimed the new approach would help ensure passengers' voices were better heard.

He said buses are cleaned before leaving the depot every day, and undergo a deep clean each month, but that operators are investigating whether vehicles can be cleaned during the day to prevent litter building up.

As for vandalism and anti-social behaviour, he said this is 'incredibly low' in Sheffield compared with other cities, and that all vehicles are fitted with CCTV for passengers' safety.

But he said 'ghost' buses with plain clothes police officers on board rather than paying customers have been operating in Barnsley in an attempt to identify culprits - a tactic that could be introduced in Sheffield.

The price of a City Bus day pass, entitling holders to use any service within the city, has risen by 12.5 per cent to £4.50 in the space of nine months, following hikes last month and in April 2017.

But Councillor Jack Scott, Sheffield Council's cabinet member for transport, said that the equivalent ticket cost £4.60 in 2012 and it remains the second cheapest ticket of its kind anywhere in the UK after Oxford.

"Our buses are among the cheapest in the country but that's not the perception. We need to do some work to make people understand that better," he added.

Across the city, 93 per cent of buses depart on time from the start of the route, according to the partnership, but members are keen to improve punctuality even further.

Bus operators also revealed plans to extend the Sheffield bus zone in coming weeks to cover the Advanced Manufacturing Park just over the border in Rotherham, meaning staff there will no longer have to pay for a South Yorkshire-wide pass.

And they are investing £9 million on 44 new buses in the city - around 10 per cent of the existing fleet - which will be rolled out in the next two-to-three months.

Providers pooled resources to fund the re-brand. While they would not reveal the cost, they said the money had come from within their normal marketing budgets and would prove 'good value' if it leads to an increase in passenger numbers.

The new branding will be rolled out from March, when a new website and the map - details of which are still being finalised - are also due to be revealed.

Operators insisted the re-brand was not politically motivated, given the soon-to-be-elected Sheffield City Region mayor will have the power to tighten regulation of buses, which could include controlling fares and routes.

They said it was simply driven by a desire to better work together to improve the service for all passengers.