Getting around in Sheffield

...Sheffield as a stranger then getting around can seem like a bit of a daunting prospect so the purpose of this review is to describe and discuss the various options which are available.

ARRIVING BY CAR -

Most visitors to the City will arrive by car but if you are unfamiliar with the city this can be quite a nerve wracking experience.

Geographically Sheffield is ideally situated right in the middle of ...
...megabus.com

GETTING AROUND ON FOOT -

Getting around the City Centre on foot is quite often the best option if you are able bodied and the weather is fine. Much of the centre is pedestrianised including the whole of The Moor, Fargate and The Orchard Square Shopping Centre, which are the three main Shopping areas within the city.

Different areas of the city are well sign posted and there underpasses or ... more

Firstly I make no apologies for the length of this review. It is written as a guide to hopefully aid anyone visiting the city who is unfamiliar with it.

Sheffield is a vibrant place which has changed so much in the last few years. Re-inventing itself from the dirty, grimy image of the Steelworks and Cutlery Firms that made it world famous was not an easy transforrmation but nowadays it is a modern city, bustling with Shopping Centres like the award winning Meadowhall Shopping Complex and several Art Galleries to name just a couple of the things that it has to offer, but at the heart of this success story are its transport links which keeps the traffic flowing around the city, well most of the time at least.

Should you find yourself in Sheffield as a stranger then getting around can seem like a bit of a daunting prospect so the purpose of this review is to describe and discuss the various options which are available.

ARRIVING BY CAR -

Most visitors to the City will arrive by car but if you are unfamiliar with the city this can be quite a nerve wracking experience.

Geographically Sheffield is ideally situated right in the middle of the country and equally positioned around 40 miles away from the cities of Leeds to the north, Nottingham to the south, and Manchester to the west. Located directly beside the M1 Motorway Sheffield's envious geographical location is the very reason why it was chosen as the site of Meadowhall, one of Europe's largest Shopping Centres, this is because a staggering 3 million people live within a catchment area of a 45 minute drive from Sheffield.

Most visitors to the city by car will approach it via junction 33 of the M1 Motorway which connects directly to the very centre of the city via the A630 dual carriageway, a road which is colloquially known locally as the Sheffield Parkway.

The Sheffield Parkway will take the unsuspecting Car driver right to the city centre itself, ending at the huge Park Square Roundabout which has six different exits, all of which seem to point to the "centre."

If you are arriving by car then if practical I would suggest that you leave the Parkway about half a mile from where it ends at Nunnery Square and take advantage of the Park & Ride scheme.

Park & Ride - The Park and Ride scheme provides secure car parking right next to the Supertram tracks which take you into the bustling centre hassle free. For further information on the Supertram see below. There are three separate Park & Ride schemes within the city. These are located at Nunnery Square on the A630 Sheffield Parkway, at Middlewood if approaching from Manchester and the west or at Meadowhall.

Park & Ride costs vary slightly but as a guide Nunnery Square costs £3 a day (£12/week or £40/month). This price includes a Day Rider ticket for the driver (which offers unlimited travel for one day anywhere within the city on the Supertram). Additional Day Rider tickets if you have passengers in your car can be purchased on the tram at a cost £2.70 each

Car parking within the centre is relatively straight forward and there are several NCP car parks, all of which are well signposted. There are also several other large car parks which offer off road parking as well as parking meters on several roads.

Parking prices vary and increase the nearer to the centre that you get. Parking meters in the centre operate Monday - Saturday from 8am - 8pm and cost 20p for 8 minutes, further away from the centre you get 12 minutes for this same price.

For long stay parking the NCP car parks offer the best value for money. City centre rates at the NCP car park on Furnival Gate at the bottom of the Moor are as follows:

1 Hour £ 1.70
1 To 2 Hours £ 3.20
2 To 4 Hours £ 4.40
4 To 6 Hours £ 5.20
6 To 24 Hours £ 7.80
Motorcycle Per Day £ 2.00

THE SUPERTRAM -

The Sheffield Supertram system is operated by Stagecoach and was opened in 1985. It is a light railway system covering 3 main routes which intersect the city centre and cover a distance of 29 kilometres of track. There are conductors on each tram who sell the tickets on board and there are a wide range of different ticket options available.

These include:-

Single Fares - These are ideal from one way travel anywhere on the route.

Return Fares - If you are returning from your destination on the same day these generally represent better value than single fares. They are not available for journeys of less than 4 stops. If considering purchasing a return ticket please make sure that the cost does not exceed the price of a Dayrider ticket (see below)

Dayrider - These currently cost £2.70 and offer unlimited travel on the Supertram network throughout the day.

Megarider - These currently cost £9 and offer unlimited weekly travel on the network.

Monthly Megarider. - This currently costs £35 and offers unlimited monthly travel on the network. This ticket cannot be bought on the tram and must be purchased in advance from one of the S.Y.P.T.E (South Yorkshire passenger Transport Executive) centres in the city.

Children under 5 years of age and OAPS travel free whilst children aged 5-16 can travel for 40p, although any child over 11 years old must produce a valid ID pass to verify their age. There is no discounted travel for students on Supertram.

In general Supertram ticket prices are similar to Bus fares for single routes within the city (see below) but the journey times on Supertram are a fraction of those same journeys by Bus as Supertram has priority on all routes. The majority of the tracks run alongside the edge of the roads but when a junction is approached the traffic lights automatically change to green for Supertram, hence a Supertram journey is fast and traffic jam free.

TRAVELLING BY BUS -

First Mainline operate the majority of the Buses in Sheffield although there are a few smaller companies also operating on specific routes. Yorkshire Terrier Green Buses offer the greatest competition to First Mainline Buses but these only run the most popular routes in the city. Yorkshire Terrier fares are generally a few pence cheaper than First Mainline Buses but they tend to be older and less comfortable.

There are a number of different fares available. The summary below is based on First Mainline prices.

Single Fares - These are ideal if you are only travelling a short distance and your daily travel costs are likely to be less than the cost of a Firstday ticket (see below). Note that return tickets are no longer available on First Bus routes.

FirstDay - This ticket currently costs £3.50 and offers unlimited travel on First Buses throughout South Yorkshire on the day of purchase.

FirstWeek - This ticket currently costs £15 and offers unlimited weekly travel on First Buses throughout South Yorkshire. A discounted price of £12 is available for students.

FirstMonth - This ticket currently costs £54 (£52 if purchased online) and offers unlimited monthly travel on First Buses throughout South Yorkshire. This ticket cannot be bought on board and must be purchased in advance from a S.Y.P.T.E centre. Please note that these tickets are valid from the first day of each month so if they are first used part way through a month you will lose out, they can however be bought at anytime as you scratch off the month and year on the ticket when you are ready to use.

Children under 16 years old and OAPS can travel for 40p, but as with Supertram all children over 11 years of age must have a valid ID pass to verify their age.

ARRIVING BY TRAIN -

Many visitors to Sheffield will arrive by train. Sheffield has a large modern train station located right in the centre of the city making this mode of transport ideal if you are coming from far away.

Unfortunately however Sheffield does not lie directly on the main North/South route from London to Edinburgh and is connected to Doncaster which does lie on this route via a spur, therefore if arriving from this direction it would normally be necessary to change at Doncaster.

Within Sheffield and South Yorkshire there are many local routes which are ideal for travelling quickly between certain destinations. A route runs between Meadowhall and the city centre for the same cost as Supertram and if travelling between Sheffield centre and Rotherham, Doncaster or Chesterfield this is by far the quickest and cheapest option.

TRAVELLING BY TAXI -

Taxi travel in Sheffield is popular and there are several Taxi Ranks located within the city centre including one at the Railway Station which also serves the adjacent Interchange which is the main Bus Station.

Hackney style Black Cabs are the only Taxi's in the city which can (legally) be hailed from the side of the street and if these are vacant they will display an orange light on the roof. Black Cabs will carry 5 passengers whilst most Private Taxi's are generally only insured to carry 4 people.

The fare price is clearly displayed on a meter inside each Cab but note that after 9pm there are minimum fare prices so there will already be a cost on the meter before you start your journey. Black Cab Drivers will generally expect a tip which is at the discretion of the customer. A typical tip would normally be 5-10% of the total price.

Private Taxi's are generally cheaper than Black Cabs but must be booked in advance by telephone. If you are not sure how much your journey will cost then ask when booking for a price guide. Unlike Black Cabs Private Hire Taxi's do not normally display the fare on a meter.

As with Black Cab Drivers, Private Hire Drivers will generally expect a tip which again is at the discretion of the customer.

OTHER WAYS OF ARRIVING -

By Air -

Sheffield has its own Airport but this is very small and has been a bit of a commercial flop. At the moment the only scheduled flights are between here and London City Docklands and even then there are only a handful of flights each week.

The nearest International Airport is the new Sheffield-Nottingham Robin Hood Airport which is located near Doncaster and about half an hours travelling distance from Sheffield centre by car.

East Midlands Airport to the South is a 50 minute car journey whilst Leeds/Bradford Airport to the North is a similar distance. Manchester Airport to the West is about 80 minutes by car.

By Coach -

The Main Coach Companies which travel into and out of Sheffield drop off and pick up at either the Interchange Bus Station or Meadowhall.

National Express are by far the most prominent Coach Company serving Sheffield and booking well in advance can get you an excellent deal. e.g. A return fare to London for just £12.

Megabus also picks up and drops off at both the Interchange and Meadowhall, although sometimes only at Meadowhall. Prices to London on this really do start at just £1. For further details visit http://www. megabus.com

GETTING AROUND ON FOOT -

Getting around the City Centre on foot is quite often the best option if you are able bodied and the weather is fine. Much of the centre is pedestrianised including the whole of The Moor, Fargate and The Orchard Square Shopping Centre, which are the three main Shopping areas within the city.

Different areas of the city are well sign posted and there underpasses or subways under all of the busy roads. The area around the markets is not however pedestrianised and the roads here are very busy with Buses, this is perhaps the most hazardous area of the city for people on foot.

CONCLUSION -

Sheffield has many different forms of transport to suit individual needs. By far my favourite method of travelling in the city is on the Supertram system which is quick, clean and friendly. Each tram can easily carry 250 passengers and so they rarely get overcrowded, on a downside however they only run on specific routes and are therefore only any good if you are travelling to or from places which are on those routes.

As a resident of Sheffield who does not currently have a car I rely heavily on public transport and travel daily between Sheffield and Rotherham on First mainline Buses with virtually no hassle.

Thank you reading.
 

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