'Is this some sort of bad joke?' - fury as popular Sheffield bus service is scrapped

A popular Sheffield bus service has been scrapped, with an MP branding the decision ‘unacceptable’.
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The SL1 and SL1a tram link buses, running between Stocksbridge, Deepcar and Middlewood, where passengers could hop on a tram to the city centre using the same ticket, will no longer operate as part of the new timetable being introduced by Stagecoach from Monday, June 1.

Passengers have responded angrily, saying it will leave rural communities even more cut off at a time when hundreds of new homes are being built or planned there.

MP Miriam Cates called the decision to scrap the SL1 bus service 'unacceptable'MP Miriam Cates called the decision to scrap the SL1 bus service 'unacceptable'
MP Miriam Cates called the decision to scrap the SL1 bus service 'unacceptable'
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The cut comes as many bus services which were reduced during the coronavirus lockdown are being stepped back up by Stagecoach and other operators, with measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

A spokeswoman for Stagecoach Yorkshire said it was pleased to be expanding its network and that passengers in Stocksbridge would be able to use an ‘enhanced’ number 57 service, providing two buses an hour to Hillsborough, where tram and other bus links are available.

"We believe the changes we are making will ensure that our services cater for the needs of as many passengers as possible," she added.

But Miriam Cates, the MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, who only earlier this month had campaigned successfully for the SL1 to be restored, said she was ‘very disappointed’ by the latest changes.

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“Not only will it mean longer and more inconvenient journey times for many users, but discontinuing the Tramlink single ticket will significantly increase costs for people who need to get into central Sheffield and beyond at a time when household budgets are already stretched,” she added.

“The fact that these changes have been pushed through with no public consultation and no thought for the needs of local residents is unacceptable, and I have written to Stagecoach and the Sheffield City Region to ask them to reconsider their decision.”

Brett Srawley, who lives in Oughtibridge and works in the city centre, said: “This is massively cutting the public transport links from rural parts of Sheffield at a time when many new developments are taking place there.”

The SL1’s withdrawal has been widely criticised on Twitter, with one passenger asking ‘is this some sort of bad joke?’.