Campaigners to organise petition calling for return of Sheffield free bus

Roy Morris, who has been at the forefront of the campaign since the launch of Better Buses for South Yorkshire, said the group will be gathering at their stall on Fargate on Saturday (September 25) from 11am.

Users, businesses, and opposition parties have reportedly demanded that the FreeBee service, which connects key areas of town every 10 minutes, be reinstated.

They say it will help compensate for the closure of Leopold and Pinstone streets, which forced 27 services to be rerouted and stops to be relocated a quarter-mile away.

Many people have been put off by the controversial move, which comes at a time when the city centre is trying to recover.

The old FreeBee service had three buses that ran every seven minutes. It ran for seven years until 2014, when the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive decided to discontinue it in order to save money.

Now, pressure is mounting on SYPTE and Sheffield City Council, which is to blame for the recent road closures, to prioritise bus passengers.

Roy had previously said: “The best solution to access to the city centre is not traditional bus routes.

"We need to bring back the Freebee circular bus service: small, unobtrusive, electric and frequent, connecting bus stops on the periphery to the centre and to the train station.

I really hope Sheffield City Council gets funding for a Freebee. What’s more, I’m afraid complaints about difficult access to the centre of Sheffield will continue until they do.”

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