A Response from First Bus

Here is the response from FirstBus,  very polite but basically they're saying Bristol have got what they requested (or a proportion of the 7500+ who responded to their survey have got what they requested).

There is no mention of the removal of the Bristol10 ticket which offered great flexibility to occasional travellers or passengers only requiring one way tickets.

In a separate 'Twitter' response from @FirstBSA I was told the Bristol10 didn't fit in with the new pricing structure which is based solely on the distance travelled; presumably the various 'Rider' tickets will be the next to dissappear as they don't fit in to that structure either (ie making it cheaper the further you travel).

I'd love to know how much of Bristol's traffic congestion is due to drivers starting and ending their journeys within the FirstBus designated Inner Zone or how much comes in from further afield.

I don't see how Bristol's congestion will ever be reduced if First are now charging soley on distance travelled making it less economic for anyone in the outer zones.

Good Evening
Thank you for taking your time with contacting us. I am sorry this has happened. We launched a consultation in early 2013 to understand more about what people wanted from their bus fares in Bristol. More than 7,500 people took part in this and unsurprisingly lots them told us that they wanted bus travel to be cheaper in Bristol. In addition to that though we also heard a strong message from customers - young and old - about the need to make things simpler, more transparent and fairer across the board for all people. So, in response to what people said, things have changed completely. From then we'll have a completely new fare structure in Bristol with new clearer, simpler and perhaps most importantly, bigger and fairer zones. I am sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you and your wife. 

Kind regards 

Customer Services First and Greyhound 283 Empress Road Southampton SO14 0JW 

No response from FirstBus

Email sent to FirstBus on 7th November 2013 still unanswered & unacknowledged; sadly I'm not surprised.

Query regarding when the restructuring of the Bath fare system will be rolled out also unanswered and unacknowledged; again I'm not surprised.

I suspect Saltford will be hit hard yet again when we discover what the new fare structure will be.

FirstBus Fare Rises in Bristol

LETTER TO THE MAYOR (11-11-13)

I live in Saltford (a BS post code and now in the Bristol Outer Zone)     
Travelling to work (mornings):-     
In the mornings I take my wife to work - , we follow the same route. (i.e car sharing- something, I thought, that everyone is being encouraged to partake in).     
Benefits:     
Only 1 vehicle travelling through Bristol; hence better for environment.
The car does not have single occupancy (again something, I thought, was being encouraged)     

Travelling from work (evenings):-      Coming Home I drive home from Filton avoiding the city centre. My wife catches a First Bus (X39) from Bristol Centre.      Benefits:     
No extra car coming  into central Bristol to pick her up (which is being encouraged).     
Better for environment.     
Flexibility for both people due to variable finishing times.     
Supporting FirstBus services.     

Costs pre changes:-     
Purchase a Bristol 10 journey card: £29.50 hence  £2.95 per trip           

Cost post changes:     
£4.80 for a single.     
10 travel cards – no longer available.      No need for a weekly season at £22 – only travelling 5 single journeys per week (whilst this ticket, in this case, reduces the cost to £4.40p per journey the meagre saving is negated if the number of journeys drops below 5)     

Hence traveling by First Bus to Saltford has increased by £1.85 per journey;
£9.25 a week.     
This equates to an increase of over £416 per year based on travelling 45 weeks per year.     

How can this be deemed as fair?     

One solution is to drive back into Bristol city centre every day to meet my wife in the evening. This however negates all of the positive actions we are being encouraged to take i.e reduce the      impact cars have on the environment and traffic congestion within Bristol. In addition FirstBuses are losing a customer.     

I know whenever changes are introduced there will be winners and losers but to lose over £400 a year seems more than excessive.     

What are your thoughts on this matter?

RESPONSE FROM MAYOR (13-11-13)

The Mayor has asked me to respond to your e mail of 11 November 2013 concerning the above.In general terms the Council welcomes the changes First has recently made to fares on their bus services. For most journeys there will be a reduction in the cost, although I recognise that for some there will be an increase. I take your point about the loss of the popular 10 journey ticket option and will raise this point when I next meet with First's management.

Most bus services operated by First are provided on a commercial basis, ie without financial support from the Council. Consequently the Council does not control them and they are a matter for First to determine in the context of their costs and market conditions. However, the Council will continue to press First and other operators to keep fares as low as possible in order to grow the market for public transport and we will draw their attention to any contradictions or anomalies.Thank you for taking the time to provide your comments.

Yours sincerely........

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