I'm reconsidering my mode of transport

Catching a bus during off-peak times has become a test of resilience, patience and endurance.
Buses in SheffieldBuses in Sheffield
Buses in Sheffield

On Sunday I went to catch the 81 bus to the top of Stannington scheduled to arrive at my stop at 12.58pm. It did not arrive.

The next option was to wait for the 82 bus, scheduled at 1.28pm, which would take me to Hall Park Road and leave me with a 15- minute walk to the top of the hill. It did not arrive. At 1.45pm an 82 arrived but was only going as far as Malin Bridge. So I waited for the next 81, scheduled at 1.58pm, and that eventually arrived at 2.12pm.

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By the time I arrived at my destination it had taken one hour and 45 minutes.

Like lots of other passengers waiting for these services, we did not complain to the driver as we are aware it is not their fault. What I experienced on Sunday was not an infrequent occurrence.

In the past I have written to the bus company and received a standard reply and a complimentary bus ticket as ‘compensation’, but little in the way of a straightforward explanation.

I would probably be told that there was disruption due to the Percy Pud race yet the Loxley bus service was running at 1pm.

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The Labour Party has a manifesto pledge to renationalise the railways.

Yet more people use the buses on a daily basis and the bus service is utilised more frequently by the vulnerable, the elderly and the disabled. There is no political pledge from any party to reverse the privatisation of bus services in this country.

So, we are left to fend with a poorly run set of services which are unreliable and piecemeal. I am a frequent bus traveller and I choose not to drive a car and add to the already congested and polluted road system. But the performance of the local bus companies is making me reconsider my mode of transport and join the throngs of people who have already abandoned what used to be a bus service the people of Sheffield were proud of.

Lawrence Whyte

Millsands, Sheffield, S3