Bristol Mayor George Ferguson signs FirstBus fare cut petition

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Bristol Mayor George Ferguson signs bus fare cut petition


The comment comes two days before many fares in the city increase by between five and 25 pence

Bristol's elected mayor has signed a petition calling on FirstBus to reduce bus fares in the city. On his Twitter account, George Ferguson said "the more pressure to twist FirstBus arm to reduce fares the better!".

More than 500 people have signed the e-petition on the government website.

FirstBus said it was "aware of the petition" and that it "respected the right of users in the region to voice their concerns in this way". A company spokeswoman said FirstBus was committed to restricting fare reviews to once a year, and had taken steps to freeze or reduce as many fares as possible.

"Changes in the wider economy - including cuts by central and local government to things like concessionary fare reimbursement levels and the bus service operator's grant, have also taken their toll but despite this we do everything we can to keep fares as low as possible," she added.

The comment comes two days before many fares in the city increase by between five and 25 pence per journey.

The petition, created by Daniel Farr, calls on the Department for Transport to "force" First to reduce its charges.

[JayMac]

Interesting that Mayor Ferguson has signed this petition when fares in the area for which he has political responsibility are not changing on 30th December.

From the press release from First Bus - Bristol, Bath and the West dated 10th December:

Bus fares on Bristol city bus services are not affected by this review and will not be changing on 30 December.

Did he bother to read the press release before signing the petition? Nice that he's 'twisting the arm' of FirstBus to reduce fares but he really needs to be more politically astute and look at whether any rises are affecting his constituents. 

Also, bad form of the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) not to either read the press release or check the 'Notes'. That's what they are there for. To ensure news outlets get their facts rights. Fares in the city are not rising between 5p and 25p. It took me but a moment to check that. For that error the BBC get 

There's no facility to comment on the published BBC article, but I have sent them an email in the hope they correct the error.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Bristol Post:

First set to introduce bus fare hike this weekend

Bus fares will increase by up to 25 pence on Sunday following the introduction of an annual price hike by transport operator First.

The price of most tickets will rise in North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset but remain unchanged in Bristol.

​First says fares have been increased to reflect a rise in its operating costs, including the growing price of fuel. Most single and return tickets will go up by between 5p and 25p but some have been frozen. The cost of some season tickets will also rise.

First said the operating costs faced by the company had changed in the past year. It said fuel continued to be one of its biggest expenses, with other pressures on the industry also taking their toll.

Marc Reddy, the firm's regional commercial and business growth director, said: "We understand it that no one likes it when fares go up and we have done everything we can to keep any increases to the absolute minimum. We are also committed to only reviewing fares once a year, the last time being a year ago.

"Fare reviews are necessary because they ensure that the price of travel adequately reflects the amount it costs for us to run the buses, while also ensuring that we make enough profit to be able to be able to invest in our networks, staff and the vehicles we operate.

"We believe that our season tickets continue to offer good value for money, allowing customers to enjoy unlimited travel within specific areas for relatively little. These products are ideal for those people who travel a lot by bus and who wish to make the greatest saving on travel costs.

"To help people enjoy the biggest savings on bus travel we also give people the option to pay for annual bus tickets by direct debit and similarly offer discounts for companies who wish to sign up to our corporate travel club in order to access cheaper travel options for their own employees.

"For those who travel infrequently the various FirstDay tickets which we sell offer excellent value for money allowing people to travel widely in a given area ^ enjoying all the bus has to offer ^ for often not much more than a standard return ticket. For those who simply want to make a single or return journey though these fares are also available on bus."

In Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset and parts of South Gloucestershire, nine adult single fares and two adult return fares have been frozen at current prices, while one adult peak return fare has been reduced.

In Somerset, two adult single fares are being held while two adult peak return fares are being reduced.

In Weston-super-Mare, the FirstMonth and FirstYear tickets will remain unchanged at ^64 and ^690 respectively. However, the cost of buying a FirstDay ticket from the town will rise to ^4.20 and the price of purchasing a FirstWeek pass there will go up to ^18.

(My highlighting: CfN.)

[JayMac]

And the Bristol Post get

[Southern Stag]

I'd agree bus fares are expensive on First but they're a business, and they can't be expected to run services at a loss to themselves. Cheaper fares would have to be funded by the local authority covering some, or in the case of tendered services, more of, the costs.

[matt473]

Fares were always going to rise as a result of the tax rebate on fuel for bus operators being removed forcing costs up sharply for many operators. Maybe petitions should be directed more towards the government to remove tax on fuel and other operating costs for bus operators allowing for cheaper fares and reducing pressure on local authorities with marginal routes becomming commercially viable due to reduced costs. Tax revenue could then come purely from company profits rather than taxing operating costs. A common sense approach like this would simplify things and in the long run improve things.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Bristol Post:

First to hold consultation on bus fares in Bristol

First announced this morning that it is going to undertake a "structural review" of bus fares in the Bristol area. The review will be inviting participation from bus passengers, the general public, local MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament), councillors, and the mayor.


A First bus in Bristol city centre

The timescale and terms of reference around the review and consultation are being finalised and further details will be announced shortly. This will include information on how local people can take part in the consultation. A third party is being appointed to oversee the process to ensure it is comprehensive.

Talking about the company^s plans, Justin Davies, regional managing director for First in the South West and Wales, said: ^We are aware that the issue of fares in Bristol has often been a contentious one with a perception that the cost of travel here is significantly higher than elsewhere. This is frustrating for everyone and is something we have wished to tackle for some time. We want to heighten awareness about the industry and allow people to better understand the economics of running buses and the cost pressures we face. In return we want to hear from the public and their representatives, in particular what they think we could do differently to both attract more people on to buses and deliver the best possible value for money for our customers. This is why we are launching this review and consultation and we hope that as many people as possible will let us have their views.^

^We are appointing a third party to work with us on this, and hope to complete the process by the end of the summer, using the findings of the consultation in our decision making going forward.^

Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson said: "I greatly welcome the proposal by First to open consultation on fare levels and structure. This is a sensible response to the understandable concern by the travelling public, myself and other local representatives. Consultation must be genuinely open and transparent and will hopefully lead to some very significant improvements in value and passenger numbers. I ask that the principal campaigners led by Daniel Farr are included in the process and that it is considered as the first step in achieving a better contract in which the four local authorities have much more say in bus fares and other aspects of service."

A First bus in Bristol city centre

No, it isn't: it's the usual stock picture used by the Bristol Post, of a First bus at Bristol Temple Meads.