{"id":62160,"date":"2024-04-22T16:01:43","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T15:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/?p=62160"},"modified":"2024-04-22T16:19:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T15:19:24","slug":"cost-of-disability-charity-trip-to-bakewell-soared-from-12-to-290-due-to-inaccessible-public-transport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/04\/22\/cost-of-disability-charity-trip-to-bakewell-soared-from-12-to-290-due-to-inaccessible-public-transport\/","title":{"rendered":"Cost of disability charity trip to Bakewell soared from \u00a312 to \u00a3290 due to \u201cinaccessible\u201d public transport\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A charity in Sheffield that organises trips for disabled people may have to pay huge additional costs for a private coach after facing \u201cunexpected barriers\u201d with bus service to Bakewell.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Burton Street Foundation<\/a> called on South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard to make public transport more accessible for disabled people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trip is set to take place in two weeks time as part of the charity\u2019s \u2018Word on the Street\u2019 group, where clients get together and go on different outings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They wanted to arrange the itinerary in advance, so that those who needed to be back home for a specific time, or any neurodivergent clients, could know exactly when they would depart and return home, and to prevent clients in wheelchairs from being stranded in the countryside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they got in touch with TM Travel, who provide the 218 bus service, they were told they could not provide an accurate timetable in advance, and would have to call them on the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 218 bus only has one wheelchair accessible seat, which would not be enough for the entire group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lexy Webster, Marketing Coordinator at Burton Street, said this was \u201cnot acceptable\u201d and \u201cunfair\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s a bus that runs once every hour, if it runs properly, and as it gets later in the day it\u2019s even less frequent. If that bus doesn’t come, how are they going to get home?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe highest groups that use public transport are the disabled and the elderly. The fact that they do not serve two of the highest groups shows that it’s not fit the way it is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The charity contacted Sheffield Community Transport to arrange a minibus, but were told that it would not travel outside the Sheffield boundary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When requested for comment, Sheffield Community Transport said: “In the past we owned several vehicles which were used to provide trips for local groups and we were occasionally able to provide trips beyond the city boundaries.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Sadly though, since the pandemic, we have had to curtail these trips because, unfortunately, we no longer have the resources available for these group trips. Our main focus is on providing trips within Sheffield for people who are unable to use mainstream public transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are hopeful that, in time,  we may have more capacity to provide a service which would meet the needs of groups wishing to travel outside the city as we fully appreciate that this would be welcomed by local groups.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only option was to book a minibus from Rotherham Community Transport, costing \u00a3130. They also needed a MiDAS trained driver for the trip, who would also drive the bus from Rotherham to Sheffield and back, costing an extra \u00a3160.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should have been a straightforward bus journey to Bakewell, which would have cost a total of \u00a312, became a private coach journey costing the charity \u00a3290. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hiya, really sorry to hear this but I\u2019d love to talk to you and your clients about why we face these problems and how we\u2019re trying to fix public transport. Please can you DM me.<\/p>— Oliver Coppard (@olivercoppard) April 17, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>