News / public transport
First Bus announces fare hike on same day birthday bus scheme begins
First Bus has announced it will be cutting young people’s discounts and increasing the price of some of its fairs starting from Saturday.
The discounts offered to students and young people will be reduced from 25 per cent off to 20 per cent off, meaning single fares will rise to £1.70 and two-trip fares to £3.20.
Under a government cap on bus fares which is in place until October 2023, single ticket fares will remain at £1 for children and £2 for adults for the time being, however the bus fare cap will rise to £2.50 for single tickets in November.
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Rob Pymm, commercial director for First West of England, said: “Our £2 adult and £1 child single tickets remain frozen, and while our two-trip fares in Bristol and Bath are increasing, adults will still be paying 50p less than this time last year.”
Other changes include an increase of an adult two-trip to £3.80, and adult day tickets in Bath increasing to £6.
A spokesperson for First Bus said: “We believe our fares represent a good value for travelling sustainably at a time when fuel costs and the general cost of living remain high.”
“Like businesses generally, we continue to face significant pressure on our costs, which means we are having to increase our fares to enable continued investment in improving services for our customers.”
The announcement was made on the same day as metro mayor Dan Norris launched his Bristol birthday bus scheme, offering free bus travel for people in their birthday month.
Dani Norris said the birthday travel scheme aimed to grow bus passenger numbers and cut carbon emissions. The birthday scheme will last a whole year and will come into effect in August.
A full list of the new fares can be found on the First Bus website.
Main photo: First Bus
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