Sheffield City Council will introduce four free-to-use electric buses in the city centre from next month.
From Monday 8 April, brand new, zero-emission buses will replace the existing Sheffield Connect buses. Stops will be conveniently situated within a short stroll of key activity hubs, connecting with the current tram and train networks.
Sheffield Connect is free to ride if you have certain passes or tickets. Without those, it’s only £1 for a single journey with cash and contactless payments accepted.
Tommy Roberts, 20, a student at the University of Sheffield, said: “Free buses are a good thing, but they’d be more useful to have them around student areas than Cathedral. Uni is here, not at the cathedral.
“Especially because they took away the Zoom card, so I don’t get the bus anymore. It’s not worth it, when it used to be 80p. So it’s cool to have free buses but that money could be used to help students, like bringing back the Zoom card.”
Zoom card users had to start paying £2 rather than 80p for some fares after a funding cut for Sheffield transport on November 1.
Kelly Coles, 47, a housing officer working in Sheffield, said: “It would benefit me and make it easier for the environment while I work in the city centre, as I would be able to leave the car at the office and travel around the city for free.
“It will help my workplace financially as we wouldn’t have to claim petrol back for journeys, and since it’s a charity, that would allow the money to be used elsewhere and to help our residents.”
With a frequency of every seven to eight minutes, travellers can simply arrive and board, enhancing the speed, cleanliness, and cost-effectiveness of their journeys.
Caroline Dix, 27, a PhD student in Public Health and Economics, said: “I’m just conscious that if there’s not that ‘barrier’ for entry, then people will spend more time on them, making them busy. In this sense it doesn’t encourage walking at all.”
The debut of Sheffield’s zero-emission buses, backed by South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard, aligns with the city council’s goal of limiting carbon emissions throughout the region.
Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “We’re delighted to see the very first fully electric buses arrive in South Yorkshire. They are just the first of many that will start operating in the region over the next few weeks, with the support of the Mayoral Combined Authority.”