Join the Advertiser's new Campaign for Better Buses

The Advertiser, in conjunction with MP Sarah Champion, has been inundated with complaints from people fed up of buses not turning up, being cancelled, arriving late and breaking down.

Ms Champion has launched a survey to hear Rotherham residents’ experiences of the town’s bus services — and we want to hear as many of your views as possible.

She has received an increasing number of complaints in recent months about the reliability and punctuality of buses, as well as about changes to routes. 

We are demanding:

* Buses turn up on time

* Cancellations or no shows be significantly reduced

* Vehicles are made safe to travel on and clean

Ms Champion said: “I’m really disappointed by the problems affecting Rotherham’s bus service, and they seem to be getting worse.

“Rotherham needs buses that are on time, frequent and offer value for money.

“I’ve launched this survey with the Rotherham Advertiser as we both keep hearing the same issues again and again.

“Gathering a clear picture of people’s day-to-day experiences will strengthen my hand with South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive. 

“I will be using the results of the survey to urge SYPTE to make sure Rotherham has a convenient, reliable and cost effective bus service.

“More and more people have come to me with complaints about Rotherham buses and I want to understand the nature and scale of the problem.

“This survey is a simple way for people to share their views and will be really helpful for me in challenging SYPTE to deliver the service Rotherham needs and deserves.”

The 23-question survey — taking around five minutes to complete — asks how often you use buses, how you would rate them, which companies you use, how often they are late, whether or not they are value for money, if they are clean and if drivers are helpful. 

There are also questions about anti-social behaviour and the interchange, and space for additional comments.

Ms Champion added: “Strong public transport links are vital for our local economy and to help encourage people to leave their cars behind to tackle pollution and climate change.”

Advertiser editor Andrew Mosley said: “All people are asking for is a service that represents value for money, and that includes the basics of buses turning up in the first place and, when they do, on time.

“People want clean buses, they want to feel safe and they genuinely want to use public transport to get around, but if it’s not viable they won’t.

“The Better Buses campaign aims to put pressure on bus companies to provide a service that enables Rotherham people to get to where they want to be and do that on time and safely. It’s that simple.”

Ms Champion is to request a meeting with SYPTE to present findings and lobby for service improvements.

You can find the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CN5KR79 and give your views until March 6.  

You can also have your say on Rotherham’s bus services, from your best and worst experiences to your ideas for improvements, by emailing [email protected] or finding us on Facebook on our Rotherham Advertiser page.