Delays, cancellations and too few buses running where they are needed are among the bugbears of passengers across the city.
In October, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) launched a three-month public consultation about the proposal to franchise bus services, bringing them under greater public control.
The move would see the authority take ownership of the bus fleet and depots, and determine the routes, timetables and fares, which South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard says would improve services.
The Star asked the SYMCA for details about the bus routes serving Sheffield with the most complaints.
It was unable to provide a figure for the number of complaints specifically but did list the 20 routes with the most number of ‘cases’ opened by the authority between January 1, 2023 and October 4, 2024.
It also provided a breakdown of the reasons for those ‘cases’, many of which are specifically related to complaints while others - such as staff feedback - are more ambiguous.
The Star has compiled a list of the bus services with the most complaints, based on the number of ‘cases’, excluding those for ‘staff praise’ but including those for general staff feedback, which is a separate category.
The most common complaints were about services failing to run, followed by buses running late or failing to stop.
Other complaints included missing bus stops, ‘dangerous’ driving, buses running early, poor cleanliness and anti-social behaviour on board.
There were also numerous ‘cases’ opened about people requesting changes to a bus route.
Below are the 20 worst Sheffield bus services for complaints, in reverse order, based on the number of ‘cases’ opened between January 1, 2023 and October 4, 2024.
1. 221 - Rotherham to Doncaster, via Mexborough
There were 55 cases opened for the number 221 bus route between January 1, 2023 and October 4, 2024, not including staff praise. That was the 20th highest number of cases during that period. The cases included 20 incidents of 'staff feedback', 10 times where a bus failed to stop, and five occasions when the service did not run. | Danielle Andrews Photo: Danielle Andrews
2. 57 - Sheffield city centre to Stocksbridge
There were 56 cases opened for the number 57 bus route between January 1, 2023 and October 4, 2024, not including staff praise. That was the 19th highest number of cases during that period. The cases included 20 times when the service did not run and six when a bus failed to stop. | National World Photo: David Kessen
3. 52 - Woodhouse to Hillsborough
There were 64 cases opened for the number 52 bus route between January 1, 2023 and October 4, 2024, not including staff praise. That was the 18th highest number of cases during that period. The cases included 22 times when the service did not run, nine occasions when a bus failed to stop and seven times when a bus was running late. | Google Photo: Google
4. 52a - Woodhouse to Wisewood
There were 65 cases opened for the number 52a bus route between January 1, 2023 and October 4, 2024, not including staff praise. That was the 17th highest number of cases during that period. The cases included 11 times when the service did not run and 14 occasions when a bus failed to stop. | National World Photo: Steve Ellis