(16 Aug 2021, 7:22 pm)IRHardy wrote There maybe a very good reason why lots of bus routes are changing in early September:Thing is though you can chop and change services, withdraw services due to low usage etc but I think the main issue is actually the cost of fares which puts any potential passengers off of using the services in question and keeps more cars on the road year in year out and I would say since restrictions have lifted more people are learning to drive than ever before which only further impacts Public Transport, Post-Covid is it still viable to be charging the following for Day/Weekly and Monthly Travel.
The COVID-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG) ceases to be paid on 31/08/2021.
It is being replaced by the Bus Recovery and Maintenance Grant (BRMG) but the BRMG will only be of one third of the value of the CBSSG.
The BRMG will run until April 2022 when the Enhanced Partnerships should be in place across England.
Any route that has not doing very well passenger wise now (and which may not have been pre-COVID) will be reviewed by bus company management teams as to whether it is likely to increase in usage in the next few months, if it does not look like it will, then those routes will disappear, as the magic money tree (i.e. the tax payer) that has funded bus routes since March 2020 will be cutting it's funding by two thirds in about 2 weeks time.
£5.30 - One Zone Day Ticket
£7 - All Zones Day Ticket
£20 (App) / £23 (On The Bus) - One Zone Weekly Ticket
£25 (App) / £30 (On The Bus) - All Zone Weekly Ticket
£75 - One Zone Monthly Ticket
£95 - All Zones Monthly Ticket
Then you have the Go Local Saver Zones which I have to admit are lot more attractively priced against the above, so why not scrap the Go Zones/Route Saver/Day Return range of tickets altogether and simply have five ticket options without any "Zonal" system in place that give all potential passengers across the region the exact same prices as in the current form some areas are paying more than others which is far from fair if I am being honest, so I would go with the following pricing and this actually in line with the current Local Saver Prices for Day/Weekly Travel and as their isn't a Monthly/Annual option on this ticket type I have priced it at a reasonable price as shown below.
Single Ticket - £1
Day Ticket - £4
Weekly Travel - £15
Monthly Ticket - £40
Annual Ticket - £360
I believe this would send out a positive message to potential passengers across the region and with a high drive in publicising these fare changes through various platforms I think more people will switch to getting the bus which in turn will make services which not viable at the moment and requiring council supported funding to become commercially viable in the future.