South Yorks ticket info shake up

New public transport information, timetable and ticket options have become available for passengers in South Yorkshire this month. The move includes new paper timetable leaflets and ticket kiosks in Interchanges, making smartcards available for purchase at PayZone stores and the introduction of MyTSY online ‘personal transport accounts’. The South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) announced in January that a 10% budget reduction of £7.6m meant that from the end of March 2015, printed paper timetables funded by SYPTE will be removed; cleaning in Interchanges and at bus stops and shelters will be reduced; and the Travel Choices service that provides public transport support for schools and businesses will cease. Transport Information Centres at Sheffield, Meadowhall, Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham Interchange will also close as part of the plans. However, following discussions between SYPTE and public transport operators, First, Stagecoach, TM Travel and Stagecoach Supertram have agreed to produce paper timetable leaflets for some of their services, which will be available in Interchanges from 1 April.

Information kiosks in Interchanges will also be updated this summer, allowing passengers to use them to visit the travelsouthyorkshire.com website to plan their journey, view full timetables and live departures. SYPTE is also expanding the number of places where people can buy tickets. A MyTSY personal account function is to be added to the Travel South Yorkshire website at the end of March. Password protected, the system allows passengers to securely apply for concessionary passes and pay for annual tickets, make a service request and submit feedback, store personal journey plans and ticket options, and register for timetable updates and newsletters.