£2 Bus fare extended yet again.

The Government has announced this weekend that the any-single bus journey in England outside London £2 fare cap has been extended yet again, this time until the end of 2024.
For UH students using UNO in-Hatfield journeys only, the £1.40p single fare still applies on production of your UH student ID card, or £2.50p return.
UNO also do one day, one week or one monthly tickets in both Zone one and Two- ( around Hatfield/St. Albans/ Welwyn Garden) go to their website for details https://www.unobus.info
Hertfordshire County Council also have a useful site https://www.intalink.org.uk
See also my posts below.

(edited 6 months ago)

Reply 1

normaw

Clearing and Applications Advisor, Universities Forum Helper

Thanks for the info @UnclePete :smile:

University of Hertfordshire

Hatfield

Visit website

Reply 2

Guru Jason

They really should cap prices on busses and trains for that matter. The more people using public transport is better than congestion and pollution. Small steps and all that.

Reply 3

UnclePete

Original post by normaw

Thanks for the info @UnclePete :smile:

Glad to help !
U-P.

Reply 4

UnclePete

Original post by Guru Jason

They really should cap prices on busses and trains for that matter. The more people using public transport is better than congestion and pollution. Small steps and all that.

I fully agree - unfortunately in many ways too little, too late, although in some areas the Government's BSIP funding award ( Bus Service Improvement Plan ) has addressed some of it, there have been massive cuts to the bus services outside London and other cities, in particular later evening and Sunday/Bank Holidays over the last decade exacerbated by Covid, driver shortage, and the Ukraine crisis pushing operating costs very much northwards.

This means whereas previously a route that was only marginally profitable and not council subsidised, developer 106 funded (or a mix), would have most likely been kept running, now it's not. The idea was that these services as well as being socially necessary, in a lot of instances interacted additionally as feeder services for commercial routes.

One service which springs to mind that I used when down that way was the Sunday/BH no.10 from Ashford to Hythe, which over the last few years has been reduced from hourly to two hourly, and now cut completely. On the occasions I have used the service 10 on a Sunday, the buses were at least half full.

Added to this councils because of their own funding pressures and reductions, are withdrawing partial or total subsidises for routes that the bus companies themselves would not run, as being commercially unviable stand alone.

One chink of light though, is that some councils are establishing "Dial and Ride " mini-bus services with DfT funding for some rural areas, although these are still in the early stages.

Outside London since the bus deregulation act of 1985, there are two types of bus service : stand alone ones run by the bus companies themselves and council or other ( such as developer fund 106).
The stand alone routes mean the bus companies can run these how they want, where they want and at what time they want provided the likes of the police have no safety concerns, so obviously the busiest route corridors get preference as that is where the profits are.

The original idea was that councils would help run the others, but even in a lot of cases that's all but dried up now. One advantage of these routes is that if cuts/reductions are to be made unlike the commercial ones more set procedures have to be worked through first, eg, hardship caused by isolating a community with no alternative etc.

Now to London : it was decided not to deregulate because of the sheer complexity and size of operations in the capital.
Therefore as all services come under the TfL controlling umbrella, they are much more integrated and less fragmented with funding to suit.
Interesting reading should you wish on the https://www.busandtrainuser.com site, with input from both industry professionals and armchair bus drivers alike.
Incidentally this site was set up by by retired bus manager supremo Roger French, under whose watch in the TSR's home patch of Brighton and Hove buses there went from strength to strength.