Late for work, forking out money for taxi’s home, paying their babysitters extra money and bus hopping across the city just to get to a hospital appointment – this is the reality for people living in the High Green area of Sheffield who rely on the city’s bus services to get about.

Residents living in the Sheffield suburb have told Yorkshire Live that they feel “invisible” and have been ”robbed of their dignity, money and jobs” due to the only bus services which serve the area being constantly inundated with cancellations and delays.

61-year-old Karen Taylor said: “Services are constantly cancelled, rerouted or part journeys. Disabled and the elderly are left standing waiting for a bus that isn’t going to show or has been diverted.

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“School kids are late for school, appointments are not met, people are getting warnings for lateness at work or worse, having to get taxis costing £20 or more. Stagecoach are robbing us of our dignity, money and jobs.”

Stagecoach’s number one bus runs from High Green to Batemoor, stopping at Arundel Gate in the city centre, and is the only bus service which services High Green – or at least, when it actually shows up.

Matthew Uttley explained that the issues with the reliability of bus services in the area has been ongoing for a number of years, but the situation has only become worse in recent months. “Pre-covid, I used to work until 11pm in the city centre and be able to get a bus home at 11.15pm.

“Since then they’ve massively reduced the timetables. Now I work until 9pm and I still can’t get home.” He explained that the evening timetable was reduced in October 2023 and there’s now only two buses which run to High Green after 6.30pm at night. “But even those schedules aren’t being adhered to, which is hugely frustrating.”

Matthew and Karen aren’t the only ones who are frustrated at the constant disruption. A dedicated Facebook group for the number one bus now contains over 400 members who are frustrated, sad and disappointed with the bus services being provided to and from High Green and out to other parts of the city.

A large group of High Green residents stranded at a bus stop in Chapel Town after the service to High Green was cancelled
A large group of High Green residents stranded at a bus stop in Chapel Town after the service to High Green was cancelled

“You just find yourself not being able to rely on the service – people will leave two hours before they start work,” Matthew explained. “It’s an hour trip on the bus to the centre anyway, but they’ll allow an extra hour for any cancellations or delays – sometimes that isn’t even enough time. It turns a 10-hour shift into a 14-hour day.

“People in the group who work at the hospital have been given disciplinaries because they can’t get to work on time for their shift – or school kids at Ecclesfield School have been given detentions because the bus is late or doesn’t show up. Why should the kids get detention for something they can’t control?

“Other people I know have changed jobs, gone part time or moved out of the area. People are getting to that point now – they can’t visit friends or family, they can’t get to work, or go out.”

One resident, who works at Northern General hospital, says it is “hardly worth working”, by the time they’ve paid for a taxi home and forked out extra money to pay for their babysitter after buses get cancelled. “I have to work late nights at the hospital and constantly have to pay for taxis to get home and then pay my babysitter extra because I’m usually late,” they explained. “So with the cost of a taxi and babysitter it’s hardly worth working. The buses run every two hours at night, which is an absolute joke.”

Another resident said they were charged £16 for a single taxi to Northern General Hospital, while 55-year-old Shaun Kirkam was almost struck off from his dental practice: “I missed three dentist appointments due to the number one buses not arriving, I was also late for a hospital appointment. My dentist told me, ‘miss another, and you’re off our books’.”

And residents who have forked out for a weekly ticket, which according to Stagecoach’s website, should cover “unlimited travel on any bus” across Sheffield for the price of £21.20, feel that they are losing out on money.

“You pay for your weekly bus ticket and you don’t get anything back when they don’t turn up,” Matthew, a Sky technician, said. “If you went to a restaurant, you wouldn’t pay for a meal if you only got served half so I just feel like not only are we not getting what we paid for, we’re not getting an apology.

Matthew Uttley at bus stop in High Green
Matthew Uttley says people in High Green feel “isolated and invisible”
(Image: Matthew Uttley)

“Not only will there be multiple cancellations and delays throughout the week, so people already aren’t getting what they pay for when it comes to the weekend, Stagecoach don’t run the service on a Sunday anymore and only partly on a Saturday. So if you buy a weekly ticket and you work on the weekend, or want to go into town, then you end up buying another bus ticket for First – and on top of that, people are having to fork out for taxi’s too.

“High Green residents must be owed thousands between the missed buses, taxi fares and lost hours at work.”

Matthew explained that High Green residents feel that the number one service is being disproportionately impacted compared to other bus routes, even though it is the only remaining service which serves the area.

“Stagecoach claims that traffic is the problem but we know that’s not true. The 88, the 1A and the one buses all run on nearly the same route, they just split off at the end and terminate in either Ecclesfield, Chapel Town or High Green. Yet the others are never late or cancelled.

“It’s always the number one bus which is cancelled. We’ve got no trams and no trains – there’s no alternative service here. We’re isolated.

“People in High Green missed out on the Christmas markets and are unable to go on nights out or to concerts, unless they’re able to afford expensive taxis, so they’re just staying at home.

“I’ve heard about people being unable to visit their elderly relatives because of the lack of bus services, and teenage couples who can’t see each other because they’re worried about not being able to get home – that’s not something you should have to worry about when you’re 16 years old.

“People just want to know that the buses are going to turn up when they’re supposed to.”

High Green residents have complained of delays, cancellations and constant switches to part routes on the only bus service which serves the Sheffield suburb
High Green residents have complained of delays, cancellations and constant switches to part routes on the only bus service which serves the Sheffield suburb

A spokesperson for Stagecoach Yorkshire said their teams “work extremely hard” to run all services to their scheduled timetables and that cancellations are “only ever made as a very last resort, often due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control.”

But residents don’t feel that that explanation is good enough. “Chapel Town has four other bus services and a train, so why can’t they prioritise areas like ours when they’re choosing where to make the cuts?” Matthew added.

“There’s 10,000 people who live in this borough yet it’s like we don’t exist – they treat us as if we don’t have jobs to get to, or medical appointments to get to, or kids need to get to school – that’s how it feels. We’ve been given excuse after excuse. It just doesn’t make sense when other services aren’t being impacted in the same way.”

A spokesperson for Stagecoach Yorkshire said: “We have invested heavily in the training and recruitment of drivers in Sheffield to combat the driver shortage the industry has faced since the pandemic so more spare drivers are available to cover shifts. We have also invested further in our fleet, replacing older vehicles to prevent lost mileage due to buses breaking down.

“Even with these interventions there are several factors outside of our control which can cause delays to buses including increased congestion, roadworks and poor highways management such as badly parked cars. We urgently need local authorities to take practical measures to reduce congestion and manage the highways more effectively to get our towns and cities moving again.

“We understand how frustrating delays and cancellations are for our passengers and we are playing our part by investing in improvements for customers including in digital technology and newer vehicles, but we need local authorities to play their part to allow operators to provide the best possible service for bus users.”

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority has also been approached for comment.

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