Reinstating a Maltby-Dinnington bus service

Many towns and villages in Rother Valley ought to be in prime position for employment, education, and investment opportunities, given that they are in such close proximity to Sheffield and Doncaster. The incredibly poor public transport network, however, means that many residents simply cannot realise their potential and take advantage of opportunities.

Maltby, like most of Rother Valley, has a car ownership percentage far lower than the national average, meaning people must have good quality public transport readily available to commute to work and to access education opportunities.

Dinnington and Maltby suffer from a lack of reliable bus services, which results in residents being isolated from opportunities unless they have access to a car, meaning that the poorest and most vulnerable cannot travel to find work or education. Both Dinnington and Maltby are two of the largest towns in the area, and despite only being 5 miles away from each other they no longer have a bus service that connects the two. This is a major problem and constraint for the people of Rother Valley, who must travel to access the public services they need and to access employment opportunities, with only 33% of the employment needs being met locally.

One of Alexander's major campaigns on public transport is the reinstatement of a direct bus service between Dinnington and Maltby. This 5.2-mile journey currently takes over an hour on public transport and necessitates a service change along the way. This is a clear example of where public transport is failing local residents, and Alexander is determined to hold them to account on this and improve service levels

Maltby is an area that is suffering from deprivation and requires investment and support to help kickstart the local economy and boost the availability and accessibility of work and education. Alexander is aware of the poor bus services offered and has taken the issue directly to South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) and Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis, in order to try and reinstate the lost service between Dinnington and Maltby, as well as improve current services.

Most recently, Alexander has also held a meeting with FirstBus, the main service operator in the region, to discuss improvements to the routes and reliability of the services. The meeting also involved local residents who were concerned with the bus services on offer and FirstBus representatives have promised to look into the issues raised and make improvements wherever possible.

Campaigns

Fixing Public Transport in Rother Valley

Following his historic election victory in Rother Valley at the 2019 General Election, Alexander Stafford MP reports that one of the first pieces of casework he ever received related to the state of public transport services in the area.

My Plan for Dinnington

Dinnington is a small town located roughly in the centre of the Rother Valley constituency and has a population of just over 9,000 people. It is believed to have been founded in Neolithic times with a name meaning "Town of Dunn's People".

See Also