Bus fares to increase to get people to buy in advance

Brighton and Hove Buses is increasing so called "on-bus" fares from April 26 to change buying habits and get more people to buy tickets in advance.

In an exclusive interview with The Argus, Mr Harris also unveiled a new system where passengers travelling outside of a "city zone" will face increased charges.

The "on-bus" fare rises include an extra 10p on a City Single, making it £2.50, 20p on a Short Hop Ticket, up to £2, 30p on a City Saver, taking it up to £5 and an extra £1 on a Family Network Saver, making it £10.

However, a number of tickets have been frozen in what chief executive Martin Harris said was a move to change the way people buy them.

The company wants people to buy their tickets online, on mobile phones or on key cards from the1 Stop Travel shop in Brighton to reduce time spent purchasing tickets from the driver.

Mr Harris also revealed additional routes to serve the seafront and i360 and new types of tickets.

He said: "We are making these changes to further encourage people to buy their tickets ahead of travel.

"Over the last eight years, buses in the city have slowed down by 14 per cent. By getting more people to buy their tickets in advance we can make the service better for everyone."

While the changes are aimed at reducing tickets bought on buses, Mr Harris ruled out having a completely cashless system anytime soon.

He said: "We are a holiday resort with a lot of people visiting. We don't have a network like in London. People want to be able to pay upfront when they travel."

However, the city will be getting what has been described as a London Underground-style zone system, in an attempt to tackle what Mr Harris described as "cross subsidisation".

He said: "We have fares that cover our entire area. It is nice in the sense that its simple but it does mean that there are a lot of people making very short journeys paying the same as people making really long journeys to Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells and Steyning.

"By putting prices up the cost of longer journeys need to be better recognised."

The new city zone will stretch up to and include Shoreham in the west, Saltdean in the east and the border of Brighton and Hove to the north. Those travelling outside of that will face an extra 30p on their Day Saver Ticket, £1 on a Seven Day Saver and £4 on a 28 Day Saver.

This summer will also see the launch of two new services for the seafront.

The i7 will go from the station to the i360 via Palace Pier before looping back round to Churchill Square and will run every 30 minutes.

The 7X will go from the station along the seafront to the Marina and run every 20 minutes.

INCREASES WILL CHANGE HABITS

Brighton and Hove Buses zone

ON-BUS fares are being increased to change passengers’ buying habits.

A city single is up 10p to £2.50, the short hop single will rise from 20p to £2 and the city saver is up 30p to £5.

The family network saver will rise from £9 to £10 but the centre fare will be frozen at £2. The network saver, meanwhile, is down from £7 to £6.50.

To get more people to buy before they travel, prices will be frozen for online and mobile purchases of all two, three, seven and 28-day adult saves, duos and all ID savers in the new city zone (excluding night buses). Special fares on night routes will be withdrawn.

There will also be a new ticket called the “sixty minute saver”, priced at £2.40. It will enable customers to make a journey in the city zone using multiple buses as long as it is within a one-hour period.

The popular Quattro ticket, which has previously only been available in the evening, will now be valid in the day too.

There are changes to children’s discounted fares (five to 18 years old) with a rise in price when bought through travel shops for journeys in the city. Online purchases for journeys outside the city zone will also rise. Additionally, a child’s discount fare when travelling with an adult will rise from 40p to 50p in the day and 70p to 80p after 6pm at weekends and during school holidays.

For students, the one-day student saver will be frozen at £3 online but the seven-day student saver will increase by between 50p and £2, depending on the zone of travel. The student 90-day and 12-month passes will also increase. 

The zone system will see those travelling outside the city paying more. For example a day saver will cost £4.50 (compared to £4.20), a seven-day saver £20 (compared to £19) and a 28-day saver £73 (compared with £69).

Q&A WITH BRIGHTON AND HOVE BUSES MANAGING DIRECTOR MARTIN HARRIS

WHY are fares going up again?
The changes are part of an effort to encourage more people to buy tickets ahead of their travel.
This will enable us to keep our buses moving. Congestion has been getting steadily worse. 
If more people are buying their tickets in advance then this will help reduce the time taken by the transaction of tickets once on the bus.
We are having to raise fares because of rising costs. Some of that comes from inflation, in particular wage inflation. We have 1,000 employees so that is a big part of our costs.
Then there is the cost of congestion. With congestion getting worse we are going to have to put in extra buses just to maintain the same timetable. We don’t get any more revenue through that.
On top of all this we need to keep investing. We are spending £7 million on new buses and equipment and we are always looking to make customer facilities better.
The new buses will all have wi-fi and next stop audio visual announcements. We hope the whole fleet will be equipped within the next 12 months so that is quite a commitment.
So once all those things are taken into account, we can’t avoid looking at fares once a year.
However, we look to keep any increases to a minimum. 

But fuel prices have come down in recent months. Surely that should result in lower fares?
Fuel costs only make up about 10 per cent of our total costs so the price of fuel is not as influential as you might think.
Compare that with the cost of paying our 1,000-strong workforce or the upkeep of our 270-strong fleet.
We also buy our fuel at a fixed price in advance. This is a calculated risk we take and it sometimes doesn’t pay off but it enables us to generally maintain prices in the long term rather than having them fluctuate with fuel prices.

Aren’t you just taking advantage of the fact you have a monopoly on public transport in Brighton and Hove?
I don’t agree. We recognise we are in a market for customers and we think we can supply that market. 
There are people who choose to walk, some who cycle and others who travel by car. 
Some will use taxis for certain journeys and the rail services run parallel to many of our services so we are not in a monopoly in a wider transport sense.
Even with buses we’ve got competition through the Big Lemon, Stagecoach, Sussex Bus and Compass Travel.
I would absolutely refute that we abuse our position. Hopefully the changes that have been made to fares show how we are trying to keep a balance and make any rises as modest as possible
At the end of the day our business can only do well if our customers and city does well.

Do you envisage a cashless system like London?
I don’t see us going cashless any time soon. We are a holiday resort with a lot of people visiting. We don’t have a network like in London. People want to be able to pay up front when they travel.
A cashless system is our ultimate aim but it’s not as easy as that. It’s certainly a few years off as it’s not our plan at the moment.
If I had to hazard a guess I would say it is unlikely to happen in the next five years although I might be wrong.

What will you be doing to cope with extra demand from the i360?
We will have two new services along the seafront, one specifically to take passengers to the i360.
It will be called the i7 and will go from the station to the i360 via the Palace Pier before looping back round to Churchill Square. That will run every 30 minutes.
The other new route is the 7X, which will also run from the station along the seafront to the marina. That one will run every 20 minutes.

Why are we having new zones and how will they work?
People making very short journeys paying the same as people making really long journeys to Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells and Steyning. There is a bit of cross subsidisation going on.
The new boundary zones will cover all ticket prices with those outside the city zone paying a little bit more, which we think is fair.
By putting prices up the cost of longer journeys will be better recognised.
There are two zones, the city zone and then everything outside. The city zone includes Shoreham in the west and the eastern end of Saltdean in the east and then up to the north of Brighton and Hove.

Has park and ride got a future in Brighton and Hove?
I believe park and ride needs to happen but we have to find the right location.
We have said all along if the right site is found then we are very willing to operate it commercially.
There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes and that will continue.

What is the biggest problem facing infrastructure and transport in Brighton and Hove?
Space, plain and simple.
The technology will take care of things like emissions but it won’t take care of space. 
It’s not just road space but space to build, space for the city to grow. 
It has been a problem for a long time now and there are no easy answers.
There will be lots of sexy stuff in the years to come with driverless vehicles. But sitting in a queue of driverless vehicles is no more fun than sitting in queue of vehicles with drivers.

Are we likely to see driverless buses on the roads any time soon?
People in the industry are already talking about it, the experts are certainly trying to get their heads around it.
Even if we do have driverless buses on the road I still think there will need to be a member of staff.
They may not need to drive or take fares but people like that human interaction.
I’ve worked in Newcastle where people had a choice between the Metro and the bus service and they chose the bus because there is someone there.
Passengers don’t want to be on their own at 11pm at night. 
They want someone to be at the front to talk to, to help if they need it.
So while we might have driverless buses at some point in the future, I don't think they will be humanless.