Residents demand ‘affordable transport’ as bus fare hike leaves people angry

Bus fares in the West Midlands are set to rise due to continued increases in operating costs. The hike, which affects day and season tickets, will start at the end of June, with an average increase of 6%.

The price of an Nbus one-day ticket will rise by 30p to £4.80 and the four-week fare will rise from £60 to £64. This change has been unanimously approved by all bus operators in the Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) area.

The single fare will remain at £2, however, thanks to a funding deal with the Department for Transport which guarantees this price cap “until at least the end of this year”. TfWM says it invests around £50m a year in the bus network to keep services vital and prevent significant fare increases or service cuts. Full details of the changes are available from bus operators or via the TfWM website.

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Coventry Live readers discussed the changes on our Facebook page.

Richard Smith says: “It’s ridiculous how, when we’re trying to tackle climate change, public transport prices keep going up, forcing people to drive more because it’s cheaper. I’m commuting to Birmingham but I have to catch a bus to the station.

“It’s already £14 for a return journey. With these increases, I will be better off just driving.”

Sarah Bodger agrees and replies: “We were supposed to go to Birmingham last week. The cost of carpooling for the two of us would have been higher than taking the car. It was a no-brainer to drive in.”

Magdalena Stankiewicz believes: “Soon it will be cheaper to buy a bike and drive 2 hours to work in the rain than to take a 30-minute bus ride.”

Stephen Meyrick says: “Spikes in the cost of fuel? Half of the nx buses are electric!”

Adam Harmsworth writes: “Nationalize them! We need an accessible transport system with enough buses to meet our needs so that, for example, the 12X doesn’t have queues coming out of Pool Meadow.”

Mike Dudley disagrees: “Nationalization just gives you higher costs, poorer service, lack of investment, poorer productivity and no customer service or competition.”

Sue Duffy thinks: “Considering they haven’t grown in a few years! And much cheaper than Stage Coach can’t be that bad..” Andrew Sanders disagrees: “Years”? 23 months to be exact, hardly “years” as the previous increase was 6 years.

Will you be affected by the price increase? Do you think they are correct? Have your say in either our comments section or on Facebook.

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