Young people from Sheffield have lobbied Rosie Winterton, the Minister of State for Transport. Seven members of the UK Youth Parliament for Sheffield and their deputies met the Minister in London last Monday 19th November.
The MYPs, who are supported by Sheffield Futures, presented the results of their transport research project, conducted earlier this year. The most common complaint of those surveyed was that buses are often not on time, infrequent and overcrowded.
Young people rely greatly on public transport to get around and so reliability and price are important to them.
Rosie Winterton congratulated the young people on producing the report. She also pointed out the environmental aspect of public transport, which compares favourably to private transport when considering individuals’ ‘carbon footprint’.
The survey found that while most young people were happy with the 40p concessionary price for travel in South Yorkshire, they found it extremely expensive to travel without a travel pass. There needs to be more information about travel passes, how to get one and where from.
Several young people commented that transport staff refuse to allow young people the concessionary fare if they do not have their pass, even if they are wearing school uniform.
Other issues raised by the survey included:
- Customer service – most young people found that public transport staff were impolite and unpleasant to them.
- Hygiene and quality – a small number of young people found that public transport is not clean enough
Overall, young people were more satisfied with the trams than the buses.
The young people from Burngreave Youth Council made a number of recommendations about how to improve bus services:
- Clean up buses – graffiti and litter
- Provide maps of bus routes
- Place security staff / conductors on buses
- CCTV on buses and at bus stops
- Use buses with separate entrances and exits
- Introduce a top-up-card system like the London Oyster Card
- Better ventilation and heating on buses
The research was conducted between January and September this year through surveys in secondary schools, colleges and youth clubs and a street survey in Sheffield city centre. There were also two focus groups, one with Burngreave Youth Council and one with The Lodge Disability Project. In all, 677 young people gave their views in the survey.
The survey was funded by the Youth Opportunities Fund.
Read the report.
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