Rail tickets cost more from Rotherham - and it's a deliberate policy

The issue has been flagged up with Rotherham Council’s Transport Advisory Group, which meets to monitor public transport services in the area - and has been confirmed as a deliberate policy.

Bob Croxton, from Treeton Parish Council has raised the question: “Why (does it) cost more for a single rail ticket both ways between Rotherham and Leeds than it does between Sheffield/Meadowhall and Leeds?

“This does not encourage people to use Rotherham station.”

Northern Rail, which operates services between those locations, have submitted an answer which confirms the discrepancy.

Timetable details submitted show that services running minutes apart cost £13.80 from Rotherham, but £6.60 from Sheffield.

The rail firm said: “This (is) an advanced purchase offer to manage overcrowding on the Less to Nottingham service (fast).

“Via our advanced purchase offer, Northern Rail aimed to move customers onto its stopping service to make it more attractive from Sheffield and Meadowhall to Leeds.”

Meanwhile, Cllr David Sheppard has complained that live displays on bus stops and in transport interchanges fail at weekends and bank holidays, remaining out of action until the next working day.

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, which is responsible for the information service, responded by saying: “We are aware of this issue and completely understand the difficulties in can cause for our customers, especially when there is no paper timetable available or for those who may find printed timetables hard to read.

“When this happens, we strongly encourage people to report faults to us, as we cannot be everywhere but can respond more quickly when issues are logged.

“We are actively looking at how we can improve this, including introducing new measures to help us manage and reset the system more effectively during weekends and bank holidays.

“In the meantime, all bus stops should have up-to-date timetable carousels, and we will look at ways to better promote access to our website and other journey planning tools to help people find up-to-date information.”

Stagecoach buses have confirmed recent punctuality for services operating from the Rawmarsh depot at 87 per cent, though that fell to 82 per cent over Christmas.