Story:Alice Carder
The M22 bus, which runs from Firth Park to Sheffield covering many side streets and estates in the area, is changing from Friday 29 January. Sheffield Community Transport will take over from Powells and run two services on different routes.
The bus, which many elderly residents rely on, will be replaced by the number 5 and M20 services. The number 5 will run from Sheffield to Firth Park, covering Margate Drive, Whiteways and Wensley and will run every hour from 7.30am to 5.30pm on weekdays.
The M20 will go from town to Fir View Gardens via Malton Street, but will not go on to Firth Park, meaning some residents will have no direct route to Firth Park where many do their weekly shopping. This service will only be 3 times per day, between 9.30am and 2pm on weekdays. On 15th January I took a ride on the bus to find out how important the M22 is to residents. Pat and Jack Macnamara of Whiteways Road said,
“This bus is very important to us. We can’t get to our doctors and the shops at Firth Park any other way.”
Barbara Roddis of Whiteways Road said,
“I suffer from asthma so I find it hard to walk up the hill. This bus is a God-send.”
One resident of Hinde House Lane said,
“If I didn’t have this bus, I would scream,swear and shout. We need it more often though because, when it breaks down, you’re waiting an hour for the next one.”
Mrs Hyman of Whiteways Road said,
“I use the bus for shopping mainly and just to get out of the house. It would be nice if it ran more often because it doesn’t always take an hour to do your shopping so then you’re waiting around.”
Margery Morris of Osgathorpe Road said,
“I’d be devastated if I didn’t have this bus. There are a lot of old people who rely on it who wouldn’t go out otherwise.”
Jim Carroll of Earl Marshall Road uses the bus to do his shopping:
“The shops are a long way from where I live. Without this bus I wouldn’t be able to get my heavy bags home, I’d have to go out six days a week shopping.”
Mrs Hendrie of Earldom Road is 82 years old. She says if she didn’t have the M22 bus she’d have to walk 15 minutes to the bus stop and wouldn’t get out as much:
“I’m surrounded by hills where I live, it’s terrible. I’ve got a good family but they all work so I need my independence.”
Residents like Mrs Hendrie rely completely on the M22. The recent icy spell meant the bus couldn’t make it to the side roads, and she was left stuck indoors.
“This is the first time I’ve been out since December,”
she said.
Bus driver Trevor Hutchinson said,
“This bus is mainly used by pensioners and it’s the only bus they’ve got. But I haven’t been able to get up to Fir View Gardens for over a week because of the weather.”
Gladys Newbolt from Wensley TARA said:
“The problem is this bus doesn’t run at all at the weekends so unless you’ve got a car or you use a taxi you can’t get out.”
At present the bus is funded entirely by the Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) who told the Messenger,
“The bus doesn’t generate any revenue and funding is limited, so there is no chance of the service being extended to weekends. However the new services are agreed for the next five years, so they are secure.”
For timetable information, contact Traveline on 01709 51 51 51.
You can also find maps and links to the timetables on the following page
New bus route maps
