Minutes:
On Demand Service Trial
The new service was to be launched on 30th July at Dinnington.
The On Demand Service would pick up either door-to-door or at local bus stops and you would be able to go through to the transport hubs and local stations including Meadowhall. It would facilitate on demand response transport including Rotherham interchange, Kiveton Park, Kiveton Bridge, Woodhouse, Darnall and Sheffield Business Park.
The service would start next month and run for 12 months.
Agreed:- (1) That the map showing the areas served in the south of the Borough by the trial as well as information on the DRT project be shared with the Group.
Service Changes
A small number of service changes had taken place over the previous weekend:-
Service 3 Rotherham-Ravenfield Common – additional early morning and early evening trip giving an additional 2 hours throughout the day. 06:50 from Ravenfield and a later trip out of Rotherham Interchange to Ravenfield at 20:15.
Service 26 and 26a – small Crystal Peak/Thorp Salvin Service to improve punctuality.
Service 70a – change of operator on the Monday-Saturday evening service from TM Travel to First but almost the same timetable and route.
Service 71 – an additional early morning trip from Harthill through to Sheffield Monday to Saturdays and also Sunday. Also a later evening trip which left Sheffield at 21:05 which ran as far as Swallownest. This followed customer feedback in the Treeton area about the evening service from Sheffield.
Service 226 – minor changes to improve punctuality.
In September there would be 2 minor changes to school services. The 06:20 which served Dinnington High School from Maltby would depart Maltby 5 minutes earlier but arrive at the school at the same time.
Service 664 from Low Valley in Wombwell through to Saint Pius Catholic School – it would be the same route and timetable but the operator would change from LL Travel to Wilfreeda Bee.
Franchising
Franchising was still proceeding with the Rotherham local travel network scheduled to be in September 2028 as part of Tranche 2. Trance 1 would include Olive Grove and Leger Way Services which included services X1, X2 and X3; those routes would run from either Doncaster or Sheffield.
SYMCA had been made aware of a supplier chain issue last week with regard to the pantographs at Rotherham Interchange. Unfortunately there was no revised time for these works to be completed. Work would still be ongoing with interim disruption throughout August and September. Discussions were ongoing this week with regard to possible contingency. Discussions would take place with Stagecoach as it affected their services. However, there had been confirmation that A1 and A4 could be opened ahead of the work.
Service 114, introduced in April for Monday to Saturday evenings and Sundays, continued to remain in operation providing evening and Sunday connectivity to Herringthorpe and parts of East Dene. This would continue to operate until at least Tranche 1.
In response to a question from Councillor Thorp regarding the Clean Air Zone in Sheffield and Barnsley and age of vehicles, Sam Millington responded that it had not been decided as yet but the plan was for standard Euro 6 vehicles as part of the franchising. There were Euro 6 vehicles on Fitzwilliam Road/A630 corridor due to the Air Quality Management Area and Euro 6/electric vehicles on Broad Street and Rawmarsh Hill. It was work in progress and eventually all of South Yorkshire would be the same.
John Young, Stagecoach, stated that the remaining diesel Fleet at Rawmarsh was all Euro 6 and had been for quite a long time. They were not necessarily new vehicles but all had had upgrades primarily because some of the Rawmarsh fleet operated into Sheffield but also delivered the benefit on Rawmarsh Hill.
Michael Moore, First Group, stated that First buses for Rotherham were Euro 6.
Councillor Thorp cited a particular problem on Service 19A at the weekend which ran up to the hospital. John Young stated that the 19A was run by Stagecoach East Midlands from the Worksop Depot. If Councillor Thorp provided him with the details, John would take the matter up.
Councillor Currie recounted comments from some users of Rotherham Interchange and Meadowhall Interchange with regard to security and the differences between the 2.
Sam Millington stated that it was the same security company for both Interchanges. He would forward the comments to the Customer Services Department of the security company for them to address.
Councillor Bennett-Sylvester asked a question regarding the franchising of the X3 service and the impact on Thrybergh. Would there be publicity with local communities promoting the benefit of it in the run up to becoming operational. Sam Millington undertook to speak to the Franchising Team to ascertain what information could be currently shared.
Work was to start on the A630 Dalton bus route in October 2026 to January 2027. Was there a plan to manage the congestion it would cause particularly around the Mushroom roundabout during the lead-up to Christmas and was the existing cycle lane on the north side to be reinstated as part of the works?
Sam Millington would ensure the Disruptions Team were aware and feed through the concerns raised.
Agreed:- (2) That Transportation Services and a representative from SYMCA convene a meeting with the local Ward Councillors to discuss the proposed works and provide a briefing.
Bob Croxton, Treeton Parish Council, queried whether the bus stop for the tram would be reinstated once the works on Corporation Street had been completed.
Agreed:- (3) That Lucy Hudson discuss this matter with Lorna Vertigan, Head of Regeneration.
Councillor Baggaley requested a list of services that ran from the depots in Tranche 1. Sam Millington would speak to the Franchising Team to ascertain what could be provided at the present time.
Agreed:- (4) That SYMCA provide a list of the services, that they legally could, that ran from the depots in Tranche 1
Further to a question from Councillor Baggaley regarding the installation of bus stops on the Waverley estate, Sam Millington confirmed that provisional funding from the Section 106 Agreement with Harworth Estates had been secured. The sites had been marked out and was going through the process of installation.