Agenda item

Question 1 – From Councillor Thorp

Why can a bus not be diverted off Bawtry Rd when heading to Rotherham, turn left down Worrygoose Lane, turn right down Cow Rakes Lane then along High Street, turn right onto Pleasley Road, back up to Moorgate crossroads and back onto its route and the opposite on its return. This has been a bus route before so still has its bus stops in position.  This route headed through the heart of Whiston which has a population of approximately 5,000 people but buses only skirted the outer roads of Whiston. Since its withdrawal, the people who lived in the centre of Whiston who needed or wanted to use public transport, must walk to the extremities of Whiston to catch one or, most likely since it was hilly, take a car.

Brian Edwards, SYMCA, stated that the request highlighted an important point about connectivity for residents living within the village and SYMCA acknowledged the wider concerns about access to public transport for communities situated away from established main road routes.

At present, there were no immediate operational plans to revise existing services to run through Whiston. Service 21 continued to operate through the main village, although this did not run via Cow Rakes Lane as the route was no longer a circular so needed to run in both directions, or potentially be split with a 2 hourly service via Cow Rakes Lane and a 2 hourly service via Greystones Road.

Where feasible within current operational and financial constraints, SYMCA would continue to explore options that could improve transport provision for Whiston residents. It was also important to highlight the forthcoming shift to a franchised bus system in South Yorkshire from September 2027. Under franchising, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority would have greater ability to design routes based on social value and community need, rather than the commercial priorities that currently shaped the network. This transition presented a significant opportunity to review localised connectivity issues, such as those affecting Whiston, in a more integrated and strategic manner.

Councillor  Thorp clarified that he was asking for one of the buses to come off Bawtry Road to access Whiston but rejoin at Whiston crossroads, onwards to the hospital.

Brian stated that he would take the request back to the team and arrange a meeting with Councillor Thorp to discuss it further.

Agreed:-  (1)  That SYMCA and Councillor Thorp meet to discuss the possibility of a bus re-route around Whiston.

Question 2 – From Councillor Thorp

The bus service into the estate off Herringthorpe Valley Road, service No. 114,  ran for 12.5 hours with a total of 13 services per day.  However, the problem was that this was a very steep route out of the estate; would it be possible to run buses after 18.00 from Rotherham so people did not have to use their own transport  and no Sunday service at all.

Brian Edwards reported that SYMCA recognised the importance of improving public transport accessibility when services concluded early in the evening. While the existing timetable reflected what operators had been able to provide on a contracted basis, it was appreciated that the steep gradient leaving the estate and the reliance on personal transport after early evening created barriers for many residents.

SYMCA was pleased to confirm that it was currently exploring options to introduce both Monday to Saturday evening journeys and a full Sunday service. There was no timescale as yet as it was subject to budgetary pressures within SYMCA.

The exploratory work aimed to determine whether enhanced evening and Sunday provision could be supported. In the longer term, the introduction of bus franchising in South Yorkshire from September 2027 would provide greater flexibility to design services based on social value and community need. As part of franchising preparation, SYMCA would undertake a comprehensive review of local connectivity requirements and the needs of residents in Herringthorpe would form a key part of that assessment.

The outcome of the discussion would be fed into the meeting to be arranged with regard to question 1.

Question 3 – From Councillor Bennett-Sylvester

From personal experience, when travelling from Thrybergh with my wife to Rotherham hospital and the town centre and since the new road opened at Parkgate, 90% of the time it was more convenient and less expensive to get an Uber than travel by bus.

Whilst there has been an emphasis on the cost of longer journeys with the £3 cap, had any work been done at looking at lowering the price of short journeys or using tools like dynamic pricing to offer lower priced short local off-peak bus travel?

Brian Edwards, SYMCA, confirmed that fare structures were being reviewed as part of the bus franchising work including the option for short journey pricing. For dynamic pricing there needed to be a balance as there was a benefit in users having certainty of fares, but again it was an option that was being considered as well as group travel fares.

Currently general fares were set by the operators, however, the Fares Team was working within the Franchising Team and various options were being considered including group travel opportunities and dynamic pricing. 

Agreed:-  (2)  That a representative of the SYMCA Franchising Team attend the next meeting to provide an update on the current situation.

Question 4 – Bob Croxton, Treeton Parish Council

I raised a question a few meetings back about the Waverley estate and the bus stops. I regularly catch the No. 95 bus through the estate. The roads were too narrow particularly Lescarr Road.  The drivers had to go onto the pavements and if 2 buses met it was chaos.  There were still no permanent bus stops or bus shelters with people trying to wave buses down. It was a good 15 minutes walk between the 2 bus stops on the estate and drivers went past bus stops with people still on the bus because they did not know where the bus stops were.

Brian Edwards, SYMCA, agreed with the difficulties experienced.  A small amount of funding had been made available from the Bus Services budget to provide bus stops where required and conversations had taken place with the developers to obtain some of their funding secured for improved services. 

Parking problems were an ongoing issue.  It was hoped that once the bus stops were properly marked up and legally enforceable it should alleviate some of the problems.   It would also include a review of the traffic management around there as part of getting the bus stops in place. 

Councillor Baggaley reported that there was a Waverley Steering Group that looked at active travel across the estate.  There was some Section 106 funding for the bus stops that the developer was going to use and talk of 3/4 additional bus stops on the current routes.  Officers had also looked at more of the route down to Catcliffe for bus stops if additional routes were put in.  With regard to parking, RMBC officers were aware of the problems but it was currently in the ownership of Haworth.  Work was currently taking place with Haworth to look at the options available.

Michael Moore, First Bus, reported that First ran the majority of the buses through the Waverley estate.  One of the frustrations of new developments was that the bus stop infrastructure went in after the housing was built.  He would urge the Council to consider bus stop infrastructure much earlier in a development’s approvals process so that bus stops and accessible routes were in place before the vast majority of properties were sold.

The challenge with Waverley was it had been 10 years of the making and still did not have buses in place.  There clearly needed to be a campaign of how to get people to use the bus through local engagement.