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Better by bus
BUS users are reminded that Solo is
changing and they can benefit from improvements to bus travel from April 2017.
Monday, 3 April 2017, will see the removal of
'zones' as all Solo ticket types will be
valid for use across Merseyside which means bus users can travel on any bus,
anywhere for one price, giving them greater freedom to travel across Merseyside
as many times as they want with 1 ticket.
Solo ticketing would also become simpler for everyone as customers would not
have to work out which zone they need and it could support greater access to
work and leisure opportunities.
The new fare structure means that fares would be up to a ⅓ cheaper for
people who currently buy all area tickets, resulting in significant savings for
those customers.
In terms of the new price structure, 7 out of 8, 1 area prices will increase in
line with inflation to a maximum of 0.3% above or below RPI (set at 1.9%) and
could be off set by the significant benefits customers will experience.
Usually approved price changes for Solo season tickets are applied annually in
January along with other ticket products.
However, in January 2017, it was agreed
to freeze these prices to avoid 2 price increases for Solo products during 2017.
Customers have already been benefitting from the prices being maintained at 2016
prices for the 1st 3 months of 2017.
Bus users who buy a 'One Area Adult 4 Weekly Solo' will experience a marginal
price increase, but would benefit from being able to travel across the whole of
Merseyside as often as they want within a 4 week period.
A Young Person's 4 Weekly ticket will also be introduced to support young
people and would contribute towards making travel more accessible for young
people and would be a welcome addition to the ticket offers already available,
including the £2 My Ticket.
Merseytravel Committee Chair Cllr Liam Robinson said:- "This is another
innovative step forward in improving the bus offer for the City Region and not
just for existing users, but for encouraging potential new users to give it a
try.
Reviewing zonal structures and pricing to simplify the customer ticket offer is
a key objective of the Bus Alliance, a formal agreement between Merseytravel,
Arriva and Stagecoach and aim to get more people travelling by bus which drives
up investment potential to benefit all who use them. We know from the Transport
Focus Bus Passenger survey results announced yesterday that the new customer
focussed improvements, including on board Wi-Fi, that have been introduced are
having a positive effect. The changes to Solo are another way of driving up
customer satisfaction levels and fare paying patronage by encouraging more
people to try the bus." |
