STA - Bus Pass Price Increase Delayed

This is a STA Travel Press release:

On 03 August the Student Union and STA Travel were informed of First Bus' annual fare increase. This was nearly a month earlier than had been customary and had been a shock for many bus pass customers. After careful negotiation with First, STA Travel and the Student Union have convinced First to defer the increase until the usual 1st of September date. This means that students and staff still have two weeks to purchase their bus passes before any increase. It is allowed to buy multiple bus passes at the lower price and validate them when needed later in the year, so anyone looking to save some of their hard earned cash should head to STA Travel at the end of the Parade as soon as possible.

The increases from 01 September are: 10 Journey (from £8.00 to £8.50), 1 Week (from £10.50 to £11.30), 5 Week (from £48.00 to £51.50), 8 Week (from £66.00 to £71.00), Term/13 Week (from £82.00 to £88.50), 36 Week (from £231.00 to £249.00), 52 Week (from £299.00 to £320.00).

Comments

Philip Livingstone: 1:52pm on 29 Aug 08 Free market economics gone too far? Unfortunately, First probably need their profits to invest in future services, especially their trains which (for those of you who don't live outside Bath) are one of their key areas of concern. Not everyone uses just the buses. I don't imagine the Student's Union jumping to reduce bus prices anytime soon. Just look at the prices in the campus shop for a start.
Thessa Thomas: 9:26am on 27 Aug 08 I emailed First Group Travel yesterday about this; they were very apologetic for the confusion and immediately corrected the ticket prices on their website. However, they stressed that prices will go up on August 31, not September 01.
Thomas Major: 5:14pm on 20 Aug 08 If you want to buy a bus pass before the 1st September at the reduced rate, but can't make it to STA Travel in person, you can ring them up and pay for the pass over the phone with a credit or debit card. STA cannot however send the pass out to you, as you need to verify your identity with your library card at the point of purchase. This means you can purchase the pass now, at the current price, and then collect the pass when you return to Bath. The phone numbers for STA on campus are 01225 38 6149, or 01225 38 6435 Tom Major VP Communications
Ellen Ashmore: 8:53pm on 18 Aug 08 On the First Bus website, they are already charging the higher £249 for the 36 week pass. How can we buy the £231 pass if we can't get to STA travel at uni before 1st Setpember?
Ian Robinson: 9:16am on 15 Aug 08 Any student who has bought a 10 journey ticket at the higher fare of £9.00 (up to, and including 14th August 2008) may apply for a refund of £1.00 from the bus company. You should email <a href="mailto:Peter.Greenway@firstgroup.com">Peter.Greenway@firstgroup.com</a> for further details.Please ensure that you still have proof of purchase.
Alexandra Nicholson-Evans: 8:31pm on 14 Aug 08 Myself and the rest of the sabbatical team acknowledge that the First bus service provision and their pricing strategy has been causing problems for a number of years. We are working with both First and the University to solve this problem, and as Ian suggested, there are other options to be investigated. The current situation has occurred due to an error on First's part. We recently met with the company to negotiate the ticket costs. First initially proposed £9 for a ten journey ticket, but we were able to negotiate that price down to £8.50, a 50p rise on the previous year's ticket cost. Due to First's apparent inability to change the prices on their onboard machines before the end of August, all ten journey tickets purchased on the buses will be charged at £9. However, as of tomorrow, you will be able to purchase ten journey tickets from STA at the original cost of £8. From 1st September all ten journey passes will be charged at the negotiated price of £8.50. We apologise for this confusion but the issue has been recognised by First as a fault of the company and consequently any students having purchased a ten journey ticket prior to 15th August may request a £1 refund - contact details for this will be posted on Bathstudent tomorrow. We will continue to fight for a better bus service and are currently developing a campaign to demonstrate the dissatisfaction we are all facing with the service provided by First. We hope that you will channel your feelings behind these comments and get involved with the campaign. Alex Nicholson-Evans SU President
Mathias Loeser: 4:19pm on 14 Aug 08 Why is it still no option to look for another company to supply the bus route than First? Several other cities in the UK (Edinburgh, Brighton, Reading etc.) show that locally-owned bus companies offer more reliable, and cheaper services than First. I can't see why the student unions aren't promoting the idea of withdrawing from First services and employing a new bus company. Or is there no interest at all in this?
Ian Robinson: 3:17pm on 14 Aug 08 The bus company are wrong! I am on the case and will post up to date info when I get it. The position is that we have got First to delay implementing ANY increase until the end of tghe month(august) and whilst other passes will (as Dave Austin says) go up by c 7,35%, they have reluctantly agreed to increase 10 journey price to £8.50 rahter than their original proposal of £9.00. At the moment, First want to limit the 10 journey to Sainsburys rather than to Brougham Hayes. We are challenging this but finding someone not on hloiday is difficult. I think you will find that we have had some success in our negotiations and whilst price increases are not great news, they are in line with general transport inflation rates (inc cost of fuel and wages). I agree that there is a point where the SU, with the University, will have to look at alternative options. More news when I get it Ian Ian Robinson General Manager, University of Bath Students Union
David Austin: 10:06am on 14 Aug 08 Well either the bus driver or article is wrong!
James Claverley: 12:20am on 14 Aug 08 I just paid 9 pounds for my 10 journey bus pass... what exactly is the price supposed to be?
David Austin: 9:28pm on 13 Aug 08 Maybe they're predicting inflation to hit 30% with the present state of the economy! 10 journey is going up to £8.50 (as it says in the article) not £9. The average price increase is around 7.35% which would be consistent with transport inflation over the last few years but there is no excuse to increase the price of this service, especially as we all know the quality of the service will decrease! First announced an operating profit increase of 39% (18% on buses) so they're not exactly going broke! Just proves what a mistake it was privatise public transport. Free market economics gone too far
Alexander Brown: 1:31pm on 13 Aug 08 It made sense for the 10-journey to cost £8 as that was the same per trip as day returns (£1.60) with added flexibility. With a price increase such as this, I think it would be reasonable to expect an improvment in the service...
Christos Marazopoulos: 12:45pm on 13 Aug 08 The situation is absurd... I don't know why the company "has to" increase annualy their tickets... the 10 Journey ticket is increasing £1 every year since I am in Bath and there are no excuses for such a rise... I would really like the SU to do something about it, as well as any other official body in University to talk this situation through with the First Company... We are students and there has to be a policy from all sides to protect us from such irrational prices (I don't think the inflation in this country is 30% in order to justify such a price change!
Mark Farrington: 11:06am on 13 Aug 08 Thay're charging £9 a ten journey on the busses!!!!

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Published: 12 Aug 2008 14:26 , Last updated: 13 Aug 2008 14:57