Top level praise for Dearne Valley bus services  

Leading bus operator Stagecoach Yorkshire has been praised by the Minister of State for Transport for its commitment to passengers in the Dearne Valley.

The Rt Hon Rosie Winterton, also MP for Doncaster Central, was in the area to launch a fleet of 13 brand new Stagecoach Yorkshire vehicles set to benefit bus users across the Dearne Valley.

The new buses, costing almost £1.5m, are an addition to seven introduced in the area last year. All 20 now carry a fresh logo bearing the words the dearne link and feature an eye-catching livery.

 Said Ms Winterton: I am very pleased to see the results of Stagecoach's investment. Local bus services play a vital role in our communities and these new ultra-modern buses around the Dearne Valley area represent a significant commitment towards providing the level of service that passengers look for. 

I am particularly keen that all public transport is responsive to the needs of everyone who wishes to use it, so I am pleased that this new fleet has low floor access, providing improved access for disabled and elderly passengers as well as parents with young children. We are more conscious than ever of the needs of disability groups and this year alone the DfT has introduced the England-wide bus concession and consulted on changes to the popular Blue Badge Scheme, showing our desire to improve the accessibility of public transport.

Joining Ms Winterton at the launch event were four local people who entered a competition run by Stagecoach to be the faces of the Dearne Valley services and have their image on the back of the buses.

Paul Lynch, managing director of Stagecoach Yorkshire, said: We are delighted that Rosie Winterton joined us and our competition winners to launch our new-look network. It really is a reflection of our commitment to deliver a reliable, clean and affordable service to the travelling public and we are confident that users will find a huge improvement.

Earlier this year, Stagecoach also introduced simplified routes, refined timetables for improved reliability and combined ten-minute frequencies on the busiest bus routes into Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster.

Added Mr Lynch: The Dearne Valley is a key area for us in terms of moving people between the important towns of Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster and we feel we have an obligation to make this as pleasant an experience as possible – the timetable and route changes, introduced earlier this year, our new buses and exciting livery help to achieve just that.

In addition, extensive service changes took place a year ago on Stagecoach Yorkshire services in Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley – the biggest changes in the last 20 years – which saw a number of new routes, extended routes, timetable changes to improve reliability and improved frequency on some services. Since this revamp there has been a 3.2 per cent growth in passengers overall and a 5 per cent increase in the numbers of adult fare paying passengers.