Fresh bid to bring back Sheffield bus route relied upon for Hallamshire Hospital
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Mohammed Ullah started the petition – which will run on Sheffield Council’s website until February 20 – to bring back the 10/10a bus route which was run by Powell’s until it ceased trading.
He said it was vital for Nether Edge, particularly those who need to get to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.
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Hide AdHe said: “The 10 and 10a bus service served all the way from the Manor Top, through Nether Edge, to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and Sheffield city centre.
“However, the 10 and 10a bus ceased on 5th August 2022 leaving people in Nether Edge isolated, with no alternative routes to get to work, school and hospital.
“We call on the council to reinstate this vital circular urban bus route immediately.”
So far, 36 people signed the petition which can be found on the council’s website here.
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Hide AdSally Pedley set up a similar petition last year which has gathered 868 signatures.
It came as Louise Haigh, MP for Sheffield Heeley and shadow secretary for transport, warned of further bus cuts on the horizon next week.
She said bus companies could cut 24 per cent of services (47 services in total) across South Yorkshire as they face a funding shortfall.
The government’s bus recovery grant, introduced to keep services running as passengers slowly returned following Covid-19, is set to expire at the end of March following an emergency £130 million six-month extension which prevented a similar financial cliff edge.
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Hide AdOperators are required to give six-weeks’ notice of plans to cancel or change routes, which leaves just 10 days before services could be slashed.
Ms Haigh said: “The Conservatives are asleep at the wheel, risking the future of services millions of passengers depend on. They have ten days to act, or services could plunge to a record low.”
Labour said in the last year, more than 1,100 routes were cut nationally despite the Tories promising that bus services would be so frequent “you wouldn’t need a timetable” and to not only halt the decline but reverse it.
A Conservative party spokeswoman said the government was doing all it could to support buses.
She said the sector was given £2 billion in support and £60 million was invested to cap single tickets at £2.