Hundreds of people from across Sheffield Heeley have shared their experiences about bus services across the city with Louise Haigh MP, with the majority complaining of regular missing and delayed buses and even buses that do not turn up, leaving passengers stranded.

In September, Louise launched her Better Buses app so that commuters could log issues they face on a daily basis with the bus network. After the first few weeks of usage and due to its popularity, the app was expanded to cover all bus routes across Sheffield.

Some of the comments that have been made by commuters include:

“The bus has been missing this week which has meant that my child has been late for school.”

“The number 20 bus service in both directions is appalling. It’s hardly ever on time, sometimes 2 or 3 come together and the intended frequency is not good enough.”

“There needs to be a direct bus from the South and West of the city to the Hallamshire hospital. Currently I have to get two buses and it takes more than one-hour.”

“Bus shelters are filthy and full of rubbish”.

“Live tracker not showing that buses are delayed or missing.”

Louise said:

“I’ve have been inundated with comments, complaints and suggestions from commuters who use the bus network on a regular basis. It’s appalling to hear the issues that commuters are forced to face on a daily basis.

“The issues have also been made worse in the past week as both First and Stagecoach have announced service cuts due to drive shortages – leaving even more commuters stranded. One bus service that has been cut and having a detrimental impact on parents and children is the 11 and 11a. This is the only bus that parents can use to get their children to Valley Park School, many are now being forced to walk for approximately a mile to get their children to school. I have written to the bus company to ask them to reinstate this service.

“It’s pleasing to see that the South Yorkshire Combined Authority are taking steps to make improvements to bus services and have submitted their Bus Service Improvement Plan to the government, but the public need to see improvements now. For far too long communities across the city have been forced to endure substandard public transport and this cannot continue.

“I’ll be meeting with bus operators to raise these concerns with them directly and will also be sharing the feedback I’ve received via the app with the Combined Authority, so it can help inform the improvements that are made and to help hold the bus operators to account.

“We face a climate crisis and if we are going to encourage people out of their cars and onto public transport, we need to ensure that it’s reliable, affordable and most of all environmentally friendly.”

The Better Bus App is still available for commuters to log their issue with the bus network.