Bus fares up 50% from today.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Just think about that for a minute.

Fares now £3 instead of £2 for the workers going into into work this morning. Doesn’t sound much does it? But multiply that by a working week - two rides a day, five days a week and that’s a tenner. Multiply that by a month and that’s £40 coming out of perhaps fairly low paid wages (care workers, coffee shop staff) that they’ll have to find from this month that they didn’t last.

I think it’s shocking. It’s not as though its say 5% rise above inflation. What do you think of this?

I'm just wondering about other countries which have better public transport than the UK.
Is it heavily subsidised?

A 50% increase is way above inflation.

HousePlantQueen

I just get tired of the predictable goadiness of your threads, especially when a little research would show you are being "economic with the truth" just for the sake of it. I like a good debate like everyone on here, like to read other's opinions and life experience which in many cases is an interesting contribution. There are many things we do agree on though.

Best avoid them then?

I haven't had to think about fares for 20 years as I have a bus pass. For 10 of those years I still had a car but then, having moved. I had no parking except in a local paid car park so the car had to go.
It's a small town with no bus service after 7.30pm so it's a long walk to the rail station...IF they're running. Luckily we are good for shops, places to eat, a great health centre with small attached hospital and ambulance station. Fire station next to the cinema which also has plays etc etc. Can't grumble.
I was shocked to remember that I never have cash when I forgot my bus pass one day. The driver gave me a ticket anyway.
I don't envy drivers having to negotiate the winding unlit roads around here, nor traffic jams and parking throughout the country as a whole. A bus pass is invaluable and you can even get reductions on your Oyster card and London Water taxis plus the Emirates zip wire. There is much to be said for being an 'oldie'.

Thank YOU Allira. You are always fair. You always play the ball and not the man and I appreciate that.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Thank you escaped for your kind words. I’m blushing!
Yes, I thought ‘chat’ might generate more opinions. To be honest I think N&P puts a lot of posters off. It can be a bit of a bear garden.

I might not agree with your views, FriedGreenTomatoes2 but as the saying goes, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
Well, not actually to the death - I hope you understand!

And I cannot stand bullying of posters which seems to arise on some of these threads.

Thank you escaped for your kind words. I’m blushing!
Yes, I thought ‘chat’ might generate more opinions. To be honest I think N&P puts a lot of posters off. It can be a bit of a bear garden.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Fair enough HPQ 😁
I think sheer excitement fires the gun when I start threads! I rarely dig deeper than any headlines that catch my eye! I don’t particularly set out to be contentious.
Good job informative contributions burst my bubble sometimes. Every day a school day and all that.

I always appreciate your thread starters , FriedGreenTomatoes, (especially when you add a photo! 😆). We wouldn't have much to talk argue about if it were left to others to initiate a discussion.
I see you put this one under "Chat" too, so I'm guessing it was simply to get opinions?
Carry on chatting!

And less carbon emissions PoliticsNerd by using public transport where possible.

Fair enough HPQ 😁
I think sheer excitement fires the gun when I start threads! I rarely dig deeper than any headlines that catch my eye! I don’t particularly set out to be contentious.
Good job informative contributions burst my bubble sometimes. Every day a school day and all that.

But if the government hadn’t upped the discounted fares to £3 they would have gone back to full fare on 1/1/25. I think I can live with that.

PoliticsNerd
I quite understand about free passes, it’s just that everyone thinks their case is a worthy cause but there is only X sum in the kitty. Every case is valued NHS, carers, education, etc it’s just some whine too much and blame the government after 6 months from 13 years of mismanagement. Well you can’t say it was good management.
The cap was to end, the last government put in black and white so what did people expect the new government do?

mokryna

There only so much money to go round.

Pensioners get free bus passes, don’t they in the Uk? Well, my friends do. Or to keep fares down for everyone, stop the free passes. You can’t have both. What do you suggest OP? Money cannot be magicked.

I (75) don’t have a free pass here where I live nor when I visit the UK.

I understand that budget constraints are a real concern, mokryna. However, providing free bus passes to the elderly is not just about savings; it’s an investment in our communities. It promotes social inclusion, prevents isolation, and encourages active lifestyles among those who use them - and not everyone does. This can lead to better health outcomes and reduced healthcare costs in the long run.

knspol

Not much of an incentive to use public transport and save the environment, wonder what Milliband thinks.

What isn't an incentive to use public transport? A £3 cap? If your area has buses that run cheaper than that, it might not incentivise you (although the thought of clean air might), but £3 as opposed to £8 (the cost of my old journey to work) is definitely an incentive for me.

I just get tired of the predictable goadiness of your threads, especially when a little research would show you are being "economic with the truth" just for the sake of it. I like a good debate like everyone on here, like to read other's opinions and life experience which in many cases is an interesting contribution. There are many things we do agree on though.

HousePlantQueen

FriedGreenTomatoes2

True indeed JaneJudge and I’m totally with you.
I think it was just the huge 50% LEAP that shocked me!

No, you just used it as yet another of your inflammatory threads! Any little bit of research, as indicated by the posts on here, would have shown you that the £2 cap was temporary, and has now been continued, albeit at £3.

You don’t seem to like my threads much HPQ yet you post on them quite regularly. Usually to castigate me … for starting them. 🤷‍♀️

Not everyone who is eligible applies for the free bus pass.
Similarly with those who haven’t claimed pension credit.
Obviously the financial burden would be much more all round if they did.

It will certainly make part time jobs less viable.

There only so much money to go round.

Pensioners get free bus passes, don’t they in the Uk? Well, my friends do. Or to keep fares down for everyone, stop the free passes. You can’t have both. What do you suggest OP? Money cannot be magicked.

I (75) don’t have a free pass here where I live nor when I visit the UK.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

True indeed JaneJudge and I’m totally with you.
I think it was just the huge 50% LEAP that shocked me!

No, you just used it as yet another of your inflammatory threads! Any little bit of research, as indicated by the posts on here, would have shown you that the £2 cap was temporary, and has now been continued, albeit at £3.

Most bus companies have weekly ,monthly ,yearly tickets which work out cheaper so therefore unlimited travel once purchased 🙂

Not much of an incentive to use public transport and save the environment, wonder what Milliband thinks.

Slightly off the actual price,my husband is a bus driver and he gets the very blunt end of it all,he suffers verbal abuse on a daily basic ... whether it's a price hike or a late running bus, a broken down bus ,road works...you name he's the first to get the slack...

In county Durham it's only gone up to £2.50....its true that no matter how you travel things go up...car insurance,tax,petrol. Even a Greggs sausage roll

FGT - you ask what we think of Bus fares up 50% from today

I think there is no "going up". Just the end of a particular scheme as others have said.

Not something that will worry anyone in our village we have yet to find a bus to actually travel on.