The price of a single journey on a bus will rise to £2.40 as the price cap increases from January 1. FirstBus has announced that the majority of customers will pay the new price cap of £2.40 in Bristol and the wider region instead of the £3 cap introduced by the government.
Earlier this year in the autumn Budget, it was announced that the cost of a single fare would increase from £2 to £3. FirstBus said at the time that no decision had been made in regards to increasing the price but that it favoured a “staggered approach”.
First West of England have now confirmed that for journeys below six miles, it will cost £2.40 – 20 per cent lower than the maximum cap. The new cap will take effect across the West of England region, including Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.
The transport provider said that it had worked with the region’s local transport authorities to keep the majority of journeys lower than the government-set cap. However, passengers travelling more than six miles, around 35 percent of all passengers, will pay £3 for a single fare.
Child single tickets will remain at £1 across the region as part of the local Bus Service Improvement Plan. In addition, single town fares for adults in Clevedon, Nailsea, Portishead, Thornbury, Yate and Frome will remain at £1.80.
It means that for passengers in the Bristol, Bath and Weston-super-Mare zones, or those in South Gloucestershire and North and East Somerset, journeys will be set at £2.40 or £3 for those more than six miles. This includes the 374 bus service from Taunton to Bristol which will cost as little as 6p per mile.
The prices of day and season ticket prices, and student, young person and child fares, will also change when the new cap is brought into use. The new prices for adult fare tickets are below.
New adult fare prices
In Bristol and Bath, student day tickets will cost £5.90, a week ticket will cost £23.85 and a month ticket will cost £82.80. To see the full list of new fares, click here.
The fares have been agreed in collaboration with the West of England Combined Authority, North Somerset Council, Somerset Council and Wiltshire Council. FirstBus also advises passengers to use their ‘Tap On, Tap Off’ technology to save money by having their daily and weekly costs capped.
Rob Pymm, Commercial Director for First Bus in the West of England, said: “Some of our fares will be changing from January 1 in response to the UK government’s £3 fare cap. While we had the option of increasing some fares by a larger amount, we’ve worked closely with local transport authorities to keep fares for most passengers 20% lower than the government’s cap.
“Despite growing costs and increasing our network of services, we’ve worked hard to minimise the impact of this fare change, and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to encouraging more people to travel sustainably by bus. Bus travel remains a great value option that is good for society and the environment. We’re continuing to invest in bus services, and our Tap On, Tap Off technology remains the easiest and quickest way to pay, ensuring customers get the best value fare for their journey.”
The news of the price rises across the region comes after FirstBus closed a loophole allowing passengers to purchase multiple single journey tickets at a lower price ahead of the price cap. It led passengers to speculate that the price cap would be rising in the region.
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