Peak District walkers and climbers can leave the car at home at weekends and climb on an environmentally friendly bus to reach the national park honeypots.
The bus, running every Sunday and bank holiday until mid-October, calls at access points for Stanage Edge, Higger Tor and the Burbage Valley. The bus, which is part-subsidised by the British Mountaineering Council’s Access and Conservation Trust, runs on bio-diesel.
The Peak District National Park Authority is urging walkers and climbers to use the bus, to cut down on traffic problems and pollution in the area. The fare has been capped at £2 return.
The bus, operated by Sheffield Community Transport, runs from the city’s interchange and connects with trains from Manchester at Hathersage railway station.
Geoff Nickolds, Peak District national park member-representative for recreation, said: “This Sunday and bank holiday service is great for walkers, climbers and cyclists – and for the planet.
“It saves the need to find a parking space on busy weekends, and with fares capped at £2 return, it is affordable for non-car owners who may not be able to visit the countryside otherwise. Using the bus reduces congestion, it means fewer cars spoiling the views, and it saves on climate-warming carbon emissions.”
Four services run in each direction per day, the first from Sheffield at 8.30am and the last at 4.25pm; times from Hathersage are an hour later. The bus has space for walking and climbing gear and can accommodate a couple of bikes.
After consultation with the Stanage Forum, the first bus is running half an hour earlier than last year. The service also lasts 12 weeks longer than in 2008.
The Stanage bus is also subsidised by the Peak national park authority, South Yorkshire Transport Executive and High Peak and Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership.
A PDF of the timetable is on the Peak District National Park Authority website.
The Piglit
30 April 2009Meanwhile a "Peak Explorer" ticket which I use to get out walking/running has gone up by over 10% along with the rest of the fares.
This useless little bus is just a publicity stunt and diverts away attention from the real problems.
And what are the real problems?
1. A national park which can't make up its mind whether it wants to preserve the landscape or encourage tourism
2. Inadequate and expensive public transport which is there to make profits for the companies that run it.