Partnership brings green benefits

Since the launch of the Sheffield Bus Partnership in October 2012, the environmental performance of the city’s bus network has significantly improved, according to the South Yorkshire PTE (SYPTE). It claims it has also reduced road congestion. Described as the first of its kind in the UK, the Partnership brings together the SYPTE, Sheffield City Council, First South Yorkshire, Stagecoach in Sheffield and Sheffield Community Transport in an effort to make travelling around the city simpler, more flexible and convenient.

A number of initiatives have been implemented to improve Sheffield’s emissions footprint through the partnership leading to an increase in bus passengers of 5.3%. These include introducing co-ordinated timetables between Stagecoach in Sheffield and First South Yorkshire to prevent duplication on key routes, discounted multi-operator tickets and newer, greener buses. Investment in the Sheffield Bus Partnership fleet means over 60% of the city’s buses meet or exceed European environmental emissions standards, while 250 out of 400 of them will be replaced to create a 50% fleet of the highest eco standard by 2017.

The Partnership has also announced that the reliability of services has increased to 98.7% of buses arriving at stops as planned and the overall punctuality rate has increased to 90.9% over the last five months. As a result, customer satisfaction with Sheffield’s buses is improving, with a 30% reduction in customer complaints compared to before the Partnership’s launch. Figures for the number of journeys being made on buses throughout the city show an increase of 5% in the last three months, with 14% more adult fare paying customers than this time last year.