It's 05:30 a.m. And Heather is getting ready for work.

So why are you up this early?

Because I've got to get the bus at this time now so that I can work earlier hours because I can't get back home of an evening to stop running my evening busses. It's not fun, is it? I mean, it feels like it's the middle of the night.

Local authorities have long subsidized private companies in an effort to keep unprofitable local bus routes like this one running. But budget cuts have taken their toll.

They said they were no longer going to run a service evenings and weekends. To run. I believe the mayor's office had paid to put a bus on every 2 hours of an evening and weekend so that we're not completely cut off.

When the government scrapped HS two, it promised to plow the money into local transport services like these, including a billion pounds into busses. But critics say more is needed.

Sure, 1 billion pounds is great for the north. Fantastic. We want all the money we can get, but it's never going to be enough. What we need is improvements today in our bus network. Busses are crucial to our communities. They might not be the most glamorous form of transport, but they are the most effective means of connecting people with places. All the money from HS two's cancelation is not available to us now and we are facing a cris now.

Heather's experience isn't atypical. Across the country, people are struggling to get to work, school or college on a bus network that has been decimated over the years.

According to official figures, bus services have been cut by 21% since 2008. In Yorkshire and the Humber, that figure rises to 23%. And that means fewer busses and longer waits. Heather is waiting for her third and final bus into work.

The last time I went to London, I actually timed it. And it took longer from Sheffield to Roarmarsh than it had taken from St Pancras to Sheffield station.

It's taken an hour and 40 minutes for a journey that is just a 28 minutes drive. But Heather has finally arrived.

I'm going to have to do it all again this afternoon, going back, and it'll be two and a half hours.

Without reliable transport links, many, like Heather.

Are left cut off and isolated.

A new transport plan can't come soon enough. But can the government deliver on its promise? Gurpreet nar one sky news in Sheffield.