Bus Fares Up Again,Why?

[RollingJ]

11 minutes ago, Resident said:

I'm probably gonna polarise the thread and get veiled abuse thrown at me but from my experience of travelling by bus in recent months I've found that the drivers are constantly bombarded by rude customers, usually the elderly. On several occasions the driver has been dealing with a customer, putting a previous pass through manually (the card weekly passes mostly) & the OAP behind, having been asked politely to wait a moment, will just thrust their pass on the reader meaning the driver has to start again because the card reader overrides the driver's input. 

 

So I can understand why they don't really want to be that forecoming with great customer care when they're just met with such disdain when merely ask for a moment's patience. 

I agree totally, @Resident - I fortunately haven't had to travel on buses too often recently , but when I was, I usually found it was the free pass holders who were the trouble, along with (and I'll get hammered here) our 'ethnic' friends.

 

The drivers do a stressful enough job trying to get through horrendous traffic without having ignorant individuals trying to assert their 'rights' - to the detriment of everyone.

[Guest busdriver1]

3 hours ago, MatLibrary said:

Because the No. 1 aim for the private bus companies is to make a profit. 

 

Libraries and buses should both be run in house by the council. 

 

There is an obligation from the SYPTE to pick up unprofitable / socially desirable services. Something they have for some time being reducing to the point where it virtually does not happen.  By taking the buses back into council control they would be obliged to take on the already loss making day time services and then provide the loss making evening / socially desirable services, and no doubt there would be a desire to reduce the fares. Brace yourself for the council tax rises to fund this all.

[Andy C]

On 15/02/2020 at 17:38, Martin C said:

First Bradford is certainly significantly more expensive for comparable journeys than First Sheffield.

Nottingham is a place held up as somewhere with one of the best public transport operations in the country. Other than a few Stagecoach buses that come through from Mansfield/Chesterfield and community transport routes there are two main bus operators

- Nottingham City Transport - owned by the council, running mostly local services

- Trent Barton - a private company owned by the same people as TM Travel, well regarded for their branding and customer service. They run mostly out of town routes to Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

 

On Nottingham City Transport, if you pay on board the bus, it is strictly exact fare payment only - you drop the coins down a chute into a locked safe underneath the cab. If you overpay you have to go to their depot to redeem the change voucher. Single and day tickets can be bought on board, weekly or longer must be purchased in advance.

- day ticket: £4.20 within city, £6.50 full network.

- weekly ticket: £18.00 within city, £24.50 full network

- Monthly ticket on direct debit: £55 within city, £84.50

Above prices are valid only on NCT buses.

 

Trent Barton

- day "Zig Zag" ticket is £6.60 and not valid before 9am or after midnight.

Above price is only valid on Trent Barton buses.

 

Robin Hood pass

valid on all bus and tram services within Nottingham City, costs £75 per month.

 

So to compare with Sheffield:

- First charge £4.40 for a day ticket, reduced to £4 on the app, for travel in Sheffield or £5 for their whole network

- First charge £14.50 for weekly ticket, reduced to £14 on the app, for travel in Sheffield or £20 for their whole network.

- Citywide pass that includes ALL buses and trams in Sheffield regardless of operator costs £18.50, or £17.50 online, for a weekly ticket. Also available a day ticket at £5.10 and a 28 day ticket for £61.20

I would suggest we are about similar for day tickets and cheaper for weekly and monthly tickets.

Edited February 17, 2020 by Andy C

[Andy C]

it is worth noting too that First haven't actually put their fares up yet though!

 

Pricing in January was National Rail, Travelmaster, Stagecoach bus, Stagecoach Supertram, Hulleys and to a limited extent TM Travel.

[Resident]

4 hours ago, Andy C said:

it is worth noting too that First haven't actually put their fares up yet though!

 

Pricing in January was National Rail, Travelmaster, Stagecoach bus, Stagecoach Supertram, Hulleys and to a limited extent TM Travel.

Price "review" for First has been deferred till April as part of the 'apology' from FSY's MD

[RyoHazuki]

Yes, it'll be going up soon enough, don't worry.

[Retro Queen]

On 17/02/2020 at 10:54, MatLibrary said:

Because the No. 1 aim for the private bus companies is to make a profit. 

 

Libraries and buses should both be run in house by the council. 

 

My point exactly. I am tired of complaining about my route - the 98. Again there were two consecutive buses missing tonight when I came home from work. 

 

Also, I had an experience with the 81 bus from Dore yesterday. I was waiting for a bus in Dore village with a friend to go back to town and the bus that turned up went back to the garage because the driver said his window was leaking. We were then waiting a full hour for the next bus in the cold and rain. Beyond a joke.

[taxman]

It does get boring complaining but ...people need to get to work. I don't sit in the bus interchange at 6.50am for fun or my sodding health...so when the bus is parked there but no driver turns up...and when the next bus turns up but can't get in because the earlier bus is still there..wtf?

 

It's not just once in a while....it's honestly 4/10 times. But, hey, put the prices up again every year.

[Resident]

21 hours ago, Retro Queen said:

My point exactly. I am tired of complaining about my route - the 98. Again there were two consecutive buses missing tonight when I came home from work. 

 

Also, I had an experience with the 81 bus from Dore yesterday. I was waiting for a bus in Dore village with a friend to go back to town and the bus that turned up went back to the garage because the driver said his window was leaking. We were then waiting a full hour for the next bus in the cold and rain. Beyond a joke.

You realise that a Stagecoach bus went up in flames in late 2018 because water entered the cab via a leaking window. 

 

Water ingress vastly increases the risk of an electrical short leading to fire. 

[Retro Queen]

3 hours ago, Resident said:

You realise that a Stagecoach bus went up in flames in late 2018 because water entered the cab via a leaking window. 

 

Water ingress vastly increases the risk of an electrical short leading to fire. 

I am not disputing that. I am saying why did it take an hour for the next bus to turn up?