Arriva bus fares set to increase
Tuesday 24th August 2010, 11:29AM BST.
Bus prices in Shropshire are to rise by 20p for day saver tickets while the price of passes will also rise, Arriva Midlands said today.
The firm said the revised travel passes would be introduced in the Oswestry, Shrewsbury and Telford area from Sunday.
But Arriva said its family day saver ticket prices have been frozen.
Keith Myatt, communications manager for Arriva Midlands, said regular bus users who opt for multi-use bus tickets would continue to benefit, but most saver ticket prices will be increased.
He said: “We have tried hard to keep price increases to a minimum, however we have reached the point where it is inevitable that we must pass on some of the additional costs to customers in order that the services remain sustainable.
“Regular travellers can still benefit from our value for money day, weekly and four-weekly savers which are fully transferable and can be used without restriction — except on Park and Ride services. With the price of our family day saver being ‘frozen’ there are huge savings in real terms.”
The Midlands day saver adult ticket will be priced at £5.20, while the children’s equivalent will rise to £3.90, both an increase of 20p.
Full details of fare changes are available on 0844 800 44 11 or via www.arrivabus.co.uk
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Are we going to get a better service with the increase ? I’ve lost count of the number of times busses have driven past me because their too full.
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One of these days i’d really like them to go back down…. zzzz.
Where are the new prices? They seem to always announce them but never show them until its been done.
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its ridiculous
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Shouldn’t the buses actually run properly first?
Two breakdowns in two weeks and the standard of service and the attitudes of the drivers is disgusting. Why should we pay more for a poor service?
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You should pay more…. much more! Then maybe buses wouldn’t have to be so heavily subsidised by the taxpayer! Why should I have to pay for soap dodgers and job dodgers to get around?
Genuine students should get free transport however!
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I work and use public transport. Why the hell should I be penalised for it?
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You are not being penalised, just paying a fair price. Also I’m sure your journey to work would be much more enjoyable if you were not surrounded by smelly job dodgers!
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….And please give a big hand in welcome to ‘Squire’ – today’s ‘Shropshire Star Internet Troll’….
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Good day Jeepers. Welcome to Shropshire Star’s comments.
Unlike most internet forums/comments/feedback systems, that are riddled with Trolls for the viewer’s entertainment (I’m a big 4chan fan myself), you will soon learn that the views of the average poster here are so right-wing that whilst they may APPEAR to be Trolls, they are in fact people’s true attitudes and beliefs.
Don’t worry though. Rational, reasoned thought and debate is out there somewhere, but I would certainly close your browser before attempting to find it.
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well if they cleaned them out and made them smell better would understand the pay rise you dont know what you catch on them buses. also how often you see a nice clean bus driving past always full dirt all over when we see them and the fumes they give off how do they ever get away blowing out so much smoke. things need to improve to get people thinking our bus service deserves a price rise. also think when did the last driver say have a nice day or put a smile on his face :)
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One way to keep the inside of buses clean would be for people to treat property with more respect. Unfortunately not just the children leavi8ng bottles and crisp packets.. they see their parents do it… monkey see, monkey do (only monkeies have more manners).
As for the exterior… if a car was on the road from 6 am til gone midnight, drivin g down dirty roads, burying themselves in hedgerows to get past cars which take up more room than them, cars would be just as bad.
And fumes? Okay.. some of the buses are old, but copnsidering the milage, and considering, roughly, replace 1 bus with 40 cars, then make the comparison
Attitude of drivers? Ever seen or heard what they have to put up with? hardly surprising if occasionally they “pop”
And where are the prices? Ever read notices ON buses? For the past week, there’s been a notice on buses. Okay not much notice, but economics sometimes reduces time for costs to be passed through.
The bus industry is a LOT more complicated than simply a bus going up and down a road.
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Well said. People forget that litter and dirt inside buses isn’t put there by Arriva. It’s not put there by the driver. It’s dumped there by the passengers using the bus. The trouble is that British people nowadays seem to have the attitude that everything is someone else’s responsibility (I can throw my litter on the floor – “they” will clean it up!) and when we have to occasionally think or take responsibility for ourselves it’s “whinge, whinge, whinge!”
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The drivers have no right at all to take out their anger on customers, but they do. Buses should be cleaned before they go out on the roads each day, they should at least smell clean. And putting the prices up is a joke, it’s much cheaper to get a taxi to town with the family than catch the bus. Don’t even think about trying to get a pushchair on board. Also I’d like to know why the buses always trigger the flashing 30 mile per hour sign by my house.
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I’d like to know why the buses always trigger the flashing 30 mile per hour sign by my house.
Because they can, lol
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I’d like to read the notices if they weren’t right at the front in small font.
Maybe i’ll have to make an effort while the bus is moving (and probably speeding like the 44 last night did over speedbumps) risking breaking something just to see if my ticket is affected.
Oh wait, that’s exactly what I did.
My wrist hurts right now… thanks, Arriva.
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It’s 20p, get over it.
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I couldn’t agree more. What a strange utopian view of public transport people have. I have absolutely no doubt that buses are cleaned inside and out every night – its the people who use ‘em during the day that cause the problems, I’m sure.
Maybe Arriva could do better – I’m sure even they would admit that themselves sometimes! But go to some other places (for example a good many areas where the ‘First’ Group provide services) and you’ll see plenty worse standards. And the fares are much dearer too.
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Reference Lee,
It’s 20p per journey lee not just the once! People are encouraged to use public transport but why should they with this ridiculous increase? so before you get smarmy with your crass comment just consider the actual price when you frequently use the bus.
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Oh, and out of curiosity… when was the last time someone complained at the checkout because the bread was dearer than the last time they bought some?
And when was the last time supermarket put up notices saying.. “from next week, baked beans will be going up, as will rice pudding, and doughnuts…” get the picture?
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Does anyone use these comment boxes for any other reason than to moan?
I can’t believe that peoples bloods are boiling over 20p!
Do you think that bus companies are not subject to the same inflationary factors as every other business in the country? Fuel prices rise, business rates rise, wages rise, maintenance costs rise, spare parts cost rise and so on.
There are issues in the world that you should worry about first, don’t you think so?
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Fares going up on Sunday? Cripes!
Glad they told me, I shall now get all my Christmas shopping done in the remaining few days, that was a close one……………..
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“It’s 20p, get over it.”
It may well be, just look what good it can do in areas of the world suffering deprivation.
Think yourself lucky!
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it would be nice if buses actually went through St Georges regularly … it is a joke at the moment.. my partner caught a bus which the previous journey went through and the next time it bypassed St Georges all together!!!!
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buses are awful these days.
25 mins I had to wait for a bus from Woodside.
It’s not even school time right now!
Love you, 44.
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Why are my comments not being posted
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Oh come on! Imeant the one before the one above – Give me a break sheeze!
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Thanks!
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Look this is an easy one, just as easy as the chap who wont go swimming (on the advice of his doctor)anymore because they have had to scrap the free swimming sessions; have a read under ‘talking points’
Ive no doubt that next year that another fare increase of some sorts will be announced, it happens, year on year.
The buses are cleaned everymorning before they go out, get on one early enough and you can see this, the smell, well arriva can’t refuse carrying people who refuse to have a bath, shame really.
It’s like this – If you have to use the bus to get to work; school or visit loved ones then you have to pay, you have no choice do you, unless you start walking, or paying over the odds for a taxi (which can be just as dirty and smelly) What you have to do is make that small adjustment to your budget elsewhere to make way for this small increase. Its not hard, people have to do this regulary to make way for other increases in household expenditure (gas price rises ETC)
As for Barbara’s comment i find it incredible that you think that Arriva cannot/should not put there fare price up because there is suffering in the world, Did Arriva cause this suffering? Should we blame Arriva directly for the poor people who’s lives have been wrecked by the floods in pakistan – I think not! Think about it Barbara – that was a silly comment wasn’t it.
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I think that the price increases just keep coming and coming it is getting too much but i have never had a problem with the state of a bus and rarely had a miserable driver if your nice to them there nice to you.
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£5.20 a day. So if you work 5 days a week that’s £26 a week. Doesn’t cost that much to take a car. I thought we were meant to be encouraging the use of public transport.
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okay.. thats misleading…
If you work 5 days a week.. why not buy a week ticket at £21.. so that’s already £5 less than your calculation..
Or a 4 week ticket at £45… thats £24.20 less than your calculation.
And it gets better, because those tickets could also be used on yoour weekends to head out and about.
But hey.. going for the worst case scenario always sounds better doesn’t it?
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It wouldn’t bother me so much about the increase of the bus tickets if the service was a lot more reliable, since the time table changes back in May we have had to suffer constant late buses which even though are supposed to leave five minutes earlier from Telford, for some reason now get in even later than they did before, if they even turn up so customers are constantly missing their connections.
Also, why can’t they put on a bus for people whose work starts at 9am, like an 8:15 bus…..
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The X5 servie had at least 5 minutes taken off it’s running time.
In addition it had the stand time, (the time allowed for passengers to get off, get on, drivers to change over etc) reduced at Telford.
Also, the route it come in off, (the 891/2) has had it’s running time reduced.
In addition, the wolverhampton route is suffering numerous roadworks which serve to delay the servvice
In addition, the X5 used to be limited stop in SHrewsbury,(thats what the “X” is supposed to mean.. not the fact it uses the motorway), and it operated via the Town Walls.
So, it’s hardly suprising it now suffers from timing problems.
It’s no consolation, I know, but it aggrevates the drivers even more than it does the passengers, when they see the services getting eroded.
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Its not just bus fares going up. Some train fares are going up on the 5th September.
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Buses are OK if you want a drink or two, shopping at Xmas, are old (then they’re free), or it’s just you.
If you have a paying family of four or more it’s usually cheaper to use your car (including parking) than buses. You tend to get where you want to go and back again on time too.
If the last bus home doesn’t turn up – what do you do then?
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Easy………..
A) Walk (distance and saftey permitting)
B) Get a taxi
C) Call in that favour and ring a freind or a loved on to come and get you.
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I cleaned the arriva buses for 5yrs so i know they were cleaned every evening if you don’t want to pay the extra WALK.
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Clearly by the state of them you and your team were not doing a good enough job .
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Well Andrew, if the buses were cleaned every night and still end up in a state during their working day, then whose fault is that?
You assume the cleaners haven’t done their job but in all probability, isn’t the mess more likely to be down to the service users? – many of whom have no respect for property or surroundings.
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Me & my team, there were 2 of us cleaning the Oswestry buses & we did a damn good job considering the state some of them came back in.
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I totally agree with you on that.
Arriva cleaners should travel on the buses, picking up crisp packets, empty tin cans, discarded macdonalds meals , picking chewing gum off the seats etc etc etc as soon as they occur.
AND I also reckon they should do it without pay as well.
Com e on.. get REAL! Once a bus leaves the depot, it’s at the mercy of the people who travel on it.
If 90% of people treat the bus as a mobile litter bin, what do you expect will happen?
Here’s an amazing thing. When a driver told passengers the bus had to travel back to the garage to get a dollop of vomit cleaned out, when a drunk had thrown up, he got a load of abuse off the waiting passengers, complaining that it wasn’t done there and then, cleaned up by the driver, and INSTANTLY dried and ready to pick them up.
Some people live in cloud cuckoo land it seems
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I think the bus for most is not an option especially those living in the villages that have to be at work where ever at 6am. As for the prices arriva would have to pay me to travel on the rather dirty and poorly drivencontraptions , however saying that the arriva trains leave a lot to be desired I travelled on one and I had to find something to put on the seat and the head rest due to dirt etc .
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and how much longer does shrewsbury have to put up with the flotsam and jetsom of the arriva fleet? bring back midland red i say
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Same old story, the ones who need the least cost pay the most, what about students who live just outside Telford and Wrekin area but attend college in the area. This requires 2 bus journeys, which then requires 2 separate saver tickets, its extortionate the cost of student savers tickets, wonder of local politicians could actually look in to that problem?
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