Taking into account significant increases in its operating costs, First is revising some bus fares across its network from Sunday 1 January. The changes affect all standard single and return fares as well as many day, week and month, 3Month, 6Month and annual tickets. Fares for the Plymouth Park and Ride service, which First operates on a commercial basis, have also been reviewed.
From Sunday 1 January single and return bus fares will be increased by between 10 and 50 pence each.
Talking about the changes, Robbie Lamerton, General Manager for First in Devon and Cornwall, says: "We understand that this will not be welcome news, but we need to revise some of our fares to ensure that they adequately cover the costs we face in operating buses in this part of the world.
"Over recent years there has been increasing pressure on our business as we contend with rising fuel costs and reductions in the level and type of funding we are able to access from other sources. The expected reduction from April 2012 in the Bus Service Operators Grant, which partly refunds some of the excise duty we pay on the fuel we buy and which has historically been in place as a subsidy for fare-paying passengers, means we must also act now to mitigate the impact of that change on our business as a whole.
"We have kept the increases as small as we have been able to, and where possible have frozen some of the most popular fares.
"We want people to continue using our services and we have done what we can to keep the cost of multi journey tickets as low as possible, making it cheaper for those people who use our buses the most often. As a company we believe that the cost of bus travel remains competitive, particularly when compared with cost of other types of transport, for instance the total cost involved in running a private car (particularly when parking costs, insurance, tax and depreciation are also considered), or the cost of taking a taxi.
"Our season ticket products particularly represent great value for money, rewarding loyalty and significantly cutting the cost compared with the standard walk on fares, for instance a customer in Plymouth can enjoy unlimited daily travel in the area for as little as £1.43 a day. We would urge our customers to look at these products, taking advantage of all they have to offer."
For more information about all the changes being made or to find out more about the various season tickets products that are available, call our customer services team on: 0845 600 1420.
Businesses in the region are also encouraged to consider joining the First Corporate Travel Club. Membership of the club is free and available to any company, regardless of size. Having joined the club, members " and their staff - can take advantage of significant savings on a number of season ticket products. For more information about the Corporate Travel Club contact Steve Hobbs, Commercial Business Manager, on 02380 714824.
New prices for day, week and month tickets are as below:
FirstDay Plymouth, Adult £3.10
FirstDay Plymouth, Child £2.80
FirstDay Plymouth Plus, Adult £4.60
FirstDay Plymouth Plus, Child £3.20
FirstDay Plymouth, Family £7.00
FirstDay Tavilinx £6.35
FirstWeek Plymouth City £11.30
FirstWeek Plymouth £14.50
FirstWeek Plymouth Plus £20.50
FirstWeek Plymouth, Child £10.80
FirstWeek Plymouth Plus, Child £15.00
FirstWeek TaviLinx £26.50
FirstMonth Plymouth City £38.00
FirstMonth Plymouth £58.00
FirstMonth Plymouth Plus £75.00
FirstMonth Plymouth, Child £43.00
FirstMonth Plymouth Plus, Child £50.00
FirstMonth Plymstock £32.00
New Plymouth Park & Ride Fares:
Adult Single, Milehouse £1.40
Adult Single, George - Milehouse £1.65
Adult Single, Windsor £1.95
Adult Single, George £2.35
Family Return, Milehouse £4.10
Family Return, George £4.70
Adult Return, Milehouse £1.90
Adult Return, George - Milehouse £2.05
Adult Returm, Windsor £2.35
Adult Return, George £2.55
The full fare list can be found here on their web site – I have just listed the main ones for Plymouth in this post.
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