Sheffield bus services: six routes to be reduced due to driver shortages and training delays

The areas affected include Ecclesfield, Hillsborough, Woodhouse, Halfway and Middlewood as Stagecoach introduces the changes on October 30.

A statement says the changes across South and West Yorkshire and North Derbyshire are to improve the reliability of services.

A Stagecoach spokesperson said: “Along with many other industries, bus operators across the country are experiencing a shortage of staff, leaving the company with not enough drivers to run all journeys each day and though our teams have worked incredibly hard, sadly we’ve had to cancel some journeys, sometimes at short notice.”

The situation has worsened recently and been compounded by issues at the DVLA, where delays issuing licences to drivers means that the company has had to wait weeks, or even months, before new recruits can start their training.

“From October 30, we’re making temporary changes to most timetables to help us run more reliable services while we recruit more bus drivers and we’re hoping to return to normal timetables as soon as we can,” said the spokesperson.

“We’re advising customers to check the new timetables on our website and plan ahead for journeys.”

Services affected are:

43, 44 Sheffield – Dronfield – Chesterfield Monday to Friday frequency reduced from four buses per hour to three

52 Hillsborough – Sheffield – Woodhouse Monday to Saturday daytime frequency reduced from every 12 minutes to every 15. Sunday service reduced from every 20 minutes to 30.

83a Ecclesfield – Sheffield – Lodge Moor Monday to Saturday daytime frequency reduced from every 30 minutes to 40.

88 Ecclesfield – Sheffield – Bents Green Monday to Saturday daytime frequency reduced from every 12 minutes to 15.

120 Fulwood – Sheffield – Halfway Monday to Saturday daytime frequency reduced from every 12 minutes to every 15. Sunday service frequency reduced from every 20 minutes to 30.

SL1, SL1a Middlewood – Stocksbridge Monday to Saturday daytime frequency reduced from every 12 minutes to three buses per hour, maintaining tram connections. Sunday frequency reduced from three buses per hour to two.

Check the latest timetables here https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/yorkshire/covid19-temporary-timetables