Some changes in the Peak District part of our branch area already with Hulleys of Baslow going out of business, however the good news is all the routes continue to run with the service provided by new operators. The 271/272 Sheffield to Castleton has High Peak buses whilst the 173 Bakewell to Castleton along with the Monday to Saturday service on the 257 Sheffield to Bakewell via Bamford is in the hands of Andrews of Tideswell. The Summer Sunday service on route 257 is being provided by South Pennine Community Transport. Unrelated to the Hulleys situation, Bus 218 from Sheffield to Bakewell via Totley, which is operated by TM Travel, has now moved to the summer schedule with an improved Sunday frequency. Timetables at derbysbus.info.
Service changes in South Yorkshire and Chesterfield take place from 27 April. The 95a and 95b Walkley to Crystal Peaks are cut back to just run Walkley to Sheffield Interchange and the 75a Jordanthorpe to Fox Hill is cut back to Shiregreen. New service X11 is introduced providing a fast link between Sheffield, Waverley, Kimberworth and Maltby with many journeys extended to Doncaster. A number of other routes have timetable changes. Details are available at travelsouthyorkshire.com.
24 May sees the return of Stagecoach’s Peak Sightseer open top tour buses running from Chatsworth House to Bakewell (Red Route) and Castleton (Blue route). A couple of feeder trips are also available from Meadowhead, Woodseats, Millhouses and Totley. A ticket costs £12 for adults and £7 for concessions with a group deal available for up to 5 people travelling together for £30. Details at stagecoachbus.com.
Stagecoach’s Chesterfield depot has almost completed the introduction of brand new electric buses with a fleet of 18 single deckers and 39 double deckers. As well as being quieter and having better acceleration than the diesel buses they replace they also feature USB phone charging sockets, next stop announcements and air conditioning.In Sheffield look out for these buses on routes 42/43/44, 50/50a (Sheffield to Chesterfield) and X17 (Barnsley to Wirksworth) along with the Sunday service on route 65 (Meadowhall to Buxton).