Bus fare rip-off

aurongrande_2

Lately I've used our local public bus run by Stagecoach to nip into town. In the past few years, the fares have rose rapidly at an increase of as much as 15p every 6 months. The more premium fares like Day Rider and Mega Rider etc. have slowly increased.

This caught me of guard so I had to double check with one of the drivers. I asked for a return ticket into town which costs £2.50 and the driver gave me a Day Rider which cost £2.50. I didn't realise it until I got back home as to which ticket I was given.

So when I went on the bus again, same route, I asked which was cheaper, a return into town, or Day Rider. The driver replied that the Day Rider was cheaper, although it was the same price. How is this? The standard return only allows you a single return trip on that one route. A Day Rider allows you unlimited travel, switching between routes within the area, including travel to some nearby towns.

The driver said that all of the drivers are handing out Day Riders if they're cheaper in overall than a standard return. That way the company loses money from the standard fares. All this because Stagecoach Managers keep giving themselves bonuses and raises whilst the drivers get nothing.

p.s. The Mega Rider allows travel for 7 days to any location in a much larger radius, even allowing route switching.

wealdroam

OP, is there a question in there somewhere?

Or you just having a rant?

chuckley

travelling by bus is rapidly becoming an expensive method of transport.

opinions4u

chuckley wrote: »

travelling by bus is rapidly becoming an expensive method of transport.

The problem is that somebody decided it was a good idea to let older people have free travel whenever they wanted it.

Guess how that's paid for!

Haarlem

opinions4u wrote: »

The problem is that somebody decided it was a good idea to let older people have free travel whenever they wanted it.

Guess how that's paid for!

First it is more than older people who get bus passes. It includes unemploed young people and many on other benefits. I travel frequently by bus (yes using my bus pass) and as many under 60's as over 60's flash their bus pass.

Many bus services, especially not in the morning and evening busy times received subsidies from local authorities, so tax and rate payers have susidised buses for many years, long before bus passes.

Bus operators still receive subsidies, and part of the conditions are to allow people eligible for bus passes to use them. In my county bus passes can only be used from 09.30, and with some restrictions in the evening to match the previous subsidies.

purplerose

At least your drivers give out the cheaper option! Arriva drivers here will sell someone a single ticket to town for £3.10 when an all day ticket is £2.60.

skylight

An all-day ticket here is £4.30 for an adult and £2.80 for a child. Wish the "day rider" was only the £2.50 rip off price.

skiddlydiddly

I rarely use public transport but yesterday caught a bus and did notice that out of the 10 or so people that got on the bus, me and my OH were the only ones that actually paid.The rest had free passes which seemed to range from pensioners to the disabled.

I do think there should be some fair use policy though as we either pay the price through higher fares or if its some kind of blanket subsidation through local goverment then it will be part of our council tax.

gardner1

puplic transporrt ???? ahh yes i remember that years ago when i used it last it was ful of noisy chavs and people with body odor problems
is it still the same

robchap_2

gardner1 wrote: »

puplic transporrt ???? ahh yes i remember that years ago when i used it last it was ful of noisy chavs and people with body odor problems
is it still the same

no as you said you used it years ago

Altarf

skiddlydiddly wrote: »

I rarely use public transport but yesterday caught a bus and did notice that out of the 10 or so people that got on the bus, me and my OH were the only ones that actually paid.The rest had free passes which seemed to range from pensioners to the disabled.

I do think there should be some fair use policy though as we either pay the price through higher fares or if its some kind of blanket subsidation through local goverment then it will be part of our council tax.

There is a significant misconception amongst the public, the press and a lot of politicians about how the cost of the free bus passes work.

The bus company does not get paid by the council for each passenger that gets on and shows a free pass. If it did so, that would be a state subsidy and is illegal.

What the bus company does get paid is what it has lost by not charging fares to those people who would have caught the bus, if the free bus pass scheme did not exist. i.e. it only gets paid for those people who would have paid to catch the bus anyway.

The bus company also gets paid for the money it has lost when people who would have caught the bus and paid, but cannot do so now because the bus is full of people who have used a free bus pass.

At the end of the day the bus company should end up with the same amount of money as if the free bus pass scheme did not exist.

So you can see it is not as simple as 20 people get on a bus and show a free pass and the bus company collects 20 fares from the council. It is a lot more complicated than that, but the press and politicians don't like complicated stories.