North East Buses
Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 (/showthread.php?tid=4139)

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Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Adrian - 17 Oct 2022

Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022
https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/fares-and-tickets-23-October

They seem to be determined to nail their own coffin shut!


RE: Pricing - Andreos1 - 17 Oct 2022

https://twitter.com/gonortheast/status/1581990246383640578?t=qc8mOX3uJ46lFOHdQoWYIg&s=19

Prices changing on some fares and tickets.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - streetdeckfan - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 12:49 pm)Adrian wrote Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022
https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/fares-and-tickets-23-October

They seem to be determined to nail their own coffin shut!

At least they got rid of the discriminatory price differential for the app and on-bus pricing for the day tickets, still a shame about the weekly tickets though.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Thomas12 - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 12:49 pm)Adrian wrote Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022
https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/fares-and-tickets-23-October

They seem to be determined to nail their own coffin shut!

Although many fares are still cheaper than they were a couple of years ago, it is disappointing to see fare rises again. Especially when the service on a lot of routes is substandard. 

I wonder if this is something to do with the £2 fare cap being introduced in January? I assume DfT will be funding the difference in normal fares and the £2 cap.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Storx - 17 Oct 2022

Be interesting to see how much ticket prices have actually gone up considering a lot of GNE's busiest routes are journeys like Low Fell to Newcastle which none of the price reductions have really impacted.

They have had 3 price increases in the opposite direction though.

It's all good mentioning the max fares but most those routes have been cut brutally in the process.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Adrian - 17 Oct 2022

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RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Adrian - 17 Oct 2022

So not only do we have 'congestion busting' buses, we have inflation busting fares.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - streetdeckfan - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 1:05 pm)Storx wrote Be interesting to see how much ticket prices have actually gone up considering a lot of GNE's busiest routes are journeys like Low Fell to Newcastle which none of the price reductions have really impacted.

They have had 3 price increases in the opposite direction though.

It's all good mentioning the max fares but most those routes have been cut brutally in the process.

I think the X21, at least on the section between Bishop and West Auckland has escaped the last few price increases. I wonder if it'll escape this one as well given they have to compete with the Arriva 6


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - N1cholas - 17 Oct 2022

Great to see that to save them getting the backlash from keyboard warriors and everyone who will be unhappy at another price rise on social media they have turned off comments on both facebook and twitter so the people getting moaned at and verbally abused because of this will only be the drivers on the frontline not those who made the decision, even the community part of the go north east facebook page has gone to stop people complaining on social media!


RE: Pricing - MurdnunoC - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 12:50 pm)Andreos1 wrote https://twitter.com/gonortheast/status/1581990246383640578?t=qc8mOX3uJ46lFOHdQoWYIg&s=19

Prices changing on some fares and tickets.

This is delightful.

As someone who is overeducated, overqualified, works for a world renowned family run business based in Newcastle and is allowed to use the company car because I'm an indispensable employee employed at less than £10, I think Go North East have definitely made the right move here.

Rees-Mogg for galactic present. Down with Beeblebrox.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Adrian - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 1:33 pm)N1cholas wrote Great to see that to save them getting the backlash from keyboard warriors and everyone who will be unhappy at another price rise on social media they have turned off comments on both facebook and twitter so the people getting moaned at and verbally abused because of this will only be the drivers on the frontline not those who made the decision, even the community part of the go north east facebook page has gone to stop people complaining on social media!

My thoughts exactly. Nice management tactic to throw the grenade and then take cover in their ivory bunker.

The lack of notice doesn't help either, so I definitely wouldn't want to be the one driving a bus next Monday morning.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Ambassador - 17 Oct 2022

Flexi 5 from £20 to £21.50 to £25.00

I am not going to be able to get Collegues into the office at this rate!

You're talking £2.10 to go a few stops - it's extortionate but bizarrely you can get from Birtley to Gateshead for the same price...but it becomes nigh on £4 to get from Birtley to Newcastle

I can drive and park cheaper!

I've noticed with Flexi5 too that the description says must use all tickets with a month but on the app it gives you a year


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Andreos1 - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 1:33 pm)N1cholas wrote Great to see that to save them getting the backlash from keyboard warriors and everyone who will be unhappy at another price rise on social media they have turned off comments on both facebook and twitter so the people getting moaned at and verbally abused because of this will only be the drivers on the frontline not those who made the decision, even the community part of the go north east facebook page has gone to stop people complaining on social media!

The strange thing is, anyone who has been on the shareholder page, will have seen all sorts of hyperbole about how savvy they were when buying the fuel when it was so cheap a few years back. 

No doubt our favourite Fenw... Employee of a well established Newcastle based family firm, will no doubt blame the drivers for wanting that pay rise.

(17 Oct 2022, 2:53 pm)Ambassador wrote Flexi 5 from £20 to £21.50 to £25.00

I am not going to be able to get Collegues into the office at this rate!

You're talking £2.10 to go a few stops - it's extortionate but bizarrely you can get from Birtley to Gateshead for the same price...but it becomes  nigh on £4 to get from Birtley to Newcastle

I can drive and park cheaper! 

I've noticed with Flexi5 too that the description says must use all tickets with a month but on the app it gives you a year

Should have lived in the red zone all this time.
It's been cheaper to drive and park for the best part of 20 years.

Prior to the 2006 changes, there was only one winner. A series of route axing and fares increases since and the car has been the winner ever since


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Adrian - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 3:09 pm)Andreos1 wrote Should have lived in the red zone all this time.
It's been cheaper to drive and park for the best part of 20 years.

Prior to the 2006 changes, there was only one winner. A series of route axing and fares increases since and the car has been the winner ever since

And since they axed the Washington Day and Weekly tickets, it now costs more to get around Washington, than it does to get around the whole of Newcastle and North Tyneside. Or the whole of South Tyneside.

A cynic would point out that the areas with competition, i.e. Newcastle and North Tyneside, Sunderland Central and South Tyneside, have only received half the increase anyone else has. Nil increases for Sunderland Central on the Weekly and Monthly tickets, so it looks like the rest of us are taking the brunt of that instead.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Adrian - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 2:53 pm)Ambassador wrote Flexi 5 from £20 to £21.50 to £25.00

I am not going to be able to get Collegues into the office at this rate!

You're talking £2.10 to go a few stops - it's extortionate but bizarrely you can get from Birtley to Gateshead for the same price...but it becomes  nigh on £4 to get from Birtley to Newcastle

I can drive and park cheaper!

I've noticed with Flexi5 too that the description says must use all tickets with a month but on the app it gives you a year

As I say, they're nailing their own coffin shut here. Once upon a time, people would have no choice but to pay whatever increase is thrown at them, whether that be 5%, 15% or 100%. Bus operators don't wield that power that they once had, when so many people now have the option to work from home. Personally speaking, I've already dropped my optional days and will only head in when I absolutely need to. 

A business model based on repeatedly punishing existing customers, as oppose to organic growth, doesn't sound very sustainable to me.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - BusLoverMum - 17 Oct 2022

They might have closed comments on twitter but the quote re-tweets that they can't disable don't mince their words.

And I reckon it was Ring....


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Ambassador - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 3:25 pm)Adrian wrote As I say, they're nailing their own coffin shut here. Once upon a time, people would have no choice but to pay whatever increase is thrown at them, whether that be 5%, 15% or 100%. Bus operators don't wield that power that they once had, when so many people now have the option to work from home. Personally speaking, I've already dropped my optional days and will only head in when I absolutely need to. 

A business model based on repeatedly punishing existing customers, as oppose to organic growth, doesn't sound very sustainable to me.

Indeed, as I've alluded to in the past, my role is People Management with a strong Engagement Focus and public transport is and has always been a concern for Colleagues. Pre-Covid not as much but culture has changed.

Covid was an issue as Colleagues weren't confident with the safety aspect, then we had reliabiltiy and now we've got a mix of cost and reliability. We're heavily incentivising e-bikes, car shares and private transport at the moment as its what Colleagues want. 

But equally we're seeing the office days drop to once and in many cases one day a month - this will not help that change and in my smallish area head count of sub 5,000 - I know thats repeated across much much bigger organisations - it is all adding up.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - ASX_Terranova - 17 Oct 2022

In some cases, even though there are other operators you cant pay by contactless so it still forces you onto a GNE bus.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - northern156 - 17 Oct 2022

Knocking comments off from the get-go isn't right. LNER seem to do it an awful lot when not delivering good news - at least have the illusion of people being able to voice their opinion instead of point-blank ignoring everything.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Unber43 - 17 Oct 2022

3 times in 1 year!

It doesn't help that frequency is cut for a lot of services, they better return to their pre-Sept changes frequency for thos which were temporarily reduced.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - streetdeckfan - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 4:44 pm)northern156 wrote Knocking comments off from the get-go isn't right. LNER seem to do it an awful lot when not delivering good news - at least have the illusion of people being able to voice their opinion instead of point-blank ignoring everything.

It seems to be the default option for a lot of corporate accounts these days, unless it's something where they want customers to respond, they turn off the comments/replies


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Unber43 - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 4:44 pm)northern156 wrote Knocking comments off from the get-go isn't right. LNER seem to do it an awful lot when not delivering good news - at least have the illusion of people being able to voice their opinion instead of point-blank ignoring everything.
Its just shows they were expecting the blacklash.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - morritt89 - 17 Oct 2022

I wonder if this will further decrease passenger numbers and be an excuse for further service cuts?


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Unber43 - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 4:55 pm)morritt89 wrote I wonder if this will further decrease passenger numbers and be an excuse for further service cuts?
They better return services to the frequency before Sept Changes. 

Hopefully they bring the X45 back to every 20 mins.

Better Than Ever tho

Last time I checked Stagecoach Under 19 weekly tickets are £10, GNE are nearly double that.

, £1.20 single.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - nova347 - 17 Oct 2022

Defo ditching GNE as soon as I pass my driving test.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Adrian - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 4:44 pm)northern156 wrote Knocking comments off from the get-go isn't right. LNER seem to do it an awful lot when not delivering good news - at least have the illusion of people being able to voice their opinion instead of point-blank ignoring everything.

Someone has made a deeply unpopular decision to hike fares for a third time in a year, and then appear to be unwilling to face that out to their customer base. Yet they expect their workers on the ground, getting people from A to B, to take any flack for them. When LNER do it, they're doing it in the knowledge that it's their staff on the platforms or on the trains that get the flack instead.

Let's just call it out for what it is. It's cowardly.

(17 Oct 2022, 4:55 pm)morritt89 wrote I wonder if this will further decrease passenger numbers and be an excuse for further service cuts?

I'd imagine so, and of course next it'll be the drivers fault for asking for pay increases inline with inflation. Anything to deflect from the failure to grow the business over years and years.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Jimmi - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 5:25 pm)Adrian wrote Someone has made a deeply unpopular decision to hike fares for a third time in a year, and then appear to be unwilling to face that out to their customer base. Yet they expect their workers on the ground, getting people from A to B, to take any flack for them. When LNER do it, they're doing it in the knowledge that it's their staff on the platforms or on the trains that get the flack instead.

Let's just call it out for what it is. It's cowardly.

I'd imagine so, and of course next it'll be the drivers fault for asking for pay increases inline with inflation. Anything to deflect from the failure to grow the business over years and years.

Don't worry, I'm sure the social media team are standing by to roll out the "please be kind" posts again which have been making a resurgence as of late.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Andreos1 - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 5:25 pm)Adrian wrote Someone has made a deeply unpopular decision to hike fares for a third time in a year, and then appear to be unwilling to face that out to their customer base. Yet they expect their workers on the ground, getting people from A to B, to take any flack for them. When LNER do it, they're doing it in the knowledge that it's their staff on the platforms or on the trains that get the flack instead.

Let's just call it out for what it is. It's cowardly.


I'd imagine so, and of course next it'll be the drivers fault for asking for pay increases inline with inflation. Anything to deflect from the failure to grow the business over years and years.

Next tranche of drivers leaving?
Subsequently the next lot of cancellations occurring? How about the next lot of passengers changing their routine and routes being culled as a result?

Yet they seem to be surprised...


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - Adrian - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 7:10 pm)Andreos1 wrote Next tranche of drivers leaving?
Subsequently the next lot of cancellations occurring? How about the next lot of passengers changing their routine and routes being culled as a result?

Yet they seem to be surprised...

They seem to have more excuses than Steve Bruce.


RE: Go North East - Fares increase again 23rd October 2022 - stagecoachbusdepot - 17 Oct 2022

(17 Oct 2022, 12:56 pm)Thomas12 wrote Although many fares are still cheaper than they were a couple of years ago, it is disappointing to see fare rises again. Especially when the service on a lot of routes is substandard. 

I wonder if this is something to do with the £2 fare cap being introduced in January? I assume DfT will be funding the difference in normal fares and the £2 cap.

Probably an attempt to maximise revenue from that scheme but, like many decisions over the last year or two, seems to be designed to be self-harming in the long term.  Hike fares by more inflation, piss off all of your customers (who end up ditching the bus, or grudgingly pay the higher far, bad mouth the company and meanwhile aspire to ditch the bus), then a couple of months later, fares drop again thanks to the price cap - but by this time passenger numbers are far lower as those who can, have given up on GNE.  For the sake of 2 months, it seems a pyschotic move from GNE towers...

And lack of notice is inexcusable.  If their financial woes are so great they need to hike prices this much, they must have been aware of this coming down the line with more than 7 days notice.

I'm sure it's been asked before but are the fares on secured services set by Nexus/the LA or GNE?