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£2.20 - is that a lot of money for a bus journey?
- Thread starter Stewart
- Start date
Benson
Member
You should try the Stagecoach 700 if you want fleecing.
Surely it depends on the length of the journey?
Lets not kid ourselves here, for the vast majority of journeys that is an absolute rip off. I live in London and pay £1.60 when using my Oyster or for £5 (with travelcard) I can get a day ticket.. That ticket means I can travel all over London and see pretty much anything I want. Tubes arrive at most stations every few minutes and there's more on during peak times.
Whenever I travel down to Brighton I'm disgusted at the cost of travelling. What's worse is outside London, it's considered the best in the country!! It's a very, very long way behind being 'decent' in my opinion.
Whenever I travel down to Brighton I'm disgusted at the cost of travelling. What's worse is outside London, it's considered the best in the country!! It's a very, very long way behind being 'decent' in my opinion.
For city centre fares everyone thinks it's a rip-off - with the exception of Lord Bracknell. He points to the increasing bus useage as if that were proof that the fares are 'reasonable'....
B & H buses seem to be slowly increasing prices so they can slowly rip us off even more, £2.20 is too much in my opinion!
Or do you think it's quite good value?
Lord Bracknell
On fire
For a single journey from one end of the city to the other, £2.20 is good value for money. Flat fares always cause an argument, though, which is why they offer reductions to £1.50 for some shorter one-way journeys. If you want a return journey, you buy a Saver ticket (on-line, or from a shop, if you've got any sense) or you use the new smartcard, the Key.
Lord Bracknell
On fire
As long as the UK maintains its stance of refusing to subsidise bus fares (except in London), they are the fares that we will get - what the market will bear. At least, B&H Buses set them with a view to maintaining passenger growth, rather than just achieving a return on capital, regardless of passenger decline (which is the Stagecoach approach). If you are looking for "reasonable" fares, it's probably necessary to contemplate subsidy of fares from taxation. But would that be "reasonable"?
Biscuit's observations about London in post #4 point towards what a subsidised fare might look like (£1.60 with an Oyster Card).
Superphil
Dismember
I guess years and years of successive goverments obsession with "reducing" taxes has contributed to this. When I started work, the basic rate of income tax was 30p in the pound, now it's 20p, so the money has to be found from somewhere. One way may be the reduction or removal of subsidies from public transport.
You can't buy bus tickets on line. (They'll be a second part to this post if you say 'oh yes you can')
BTW I've always felt that the bus was good value between Brighton and Tunbridge Wells. It's a sodding awkward and uncomfortable journey but a few years ago it was only £4 there and back whereas it was £3.60 from Fiveways to Churchill Square and back!
I'd subsidise bus fares from parking, but that's not allowed.
Titus
Come on!
The Brighton and Hove Bus Company is the best in the country yet still people moan.
The problem is that it's not just the price that's the problem - as you say £2.20 for the long journeys isn't too bad BUT they purposely make some of those journeys longer than need be. I live in Hangleton and my parents in Patcham so my choice is either 1 hour 15 on the bus ( on a good day ) or 10 minutes in the car on the bypass. They need to close the loop - it's ridiculous that is takes so long to get from Hangleton to Patcham. Before you say, I see plenty of people get on at the early stops and get off at the last stops ( in particular Asda ) so it's no only me.
Lord Bracknell
On fire
OK.
Oh yes you can. Except you can't buy single journey tickets or Centre Zone tickets on-line. On-line ticketing is now wrapped up in the Key Card concept (just as good value tickets in London are tied into Oyster).
No, you can order them on-line - they turn up in 'up to 21 days'. Absolutely useless if you've just decided to go into town that day and want a cheap(er) ticket. (If the system has changed since I last looked and you can now buy one-off city saver tickets for that day then obviously I will stand corrected).
Lord Bracknell
On fire
Once you've signed up to The Key, I think the on-line purchase of top-ups is instantaneous. EDIT - No, it takes 'up to 48 hours', but that's better than 21 days.
Brighton Hove Bus and Coach Company
Login to the key - Brighton Hove Smartcard
Last edited:
Dalos
New member
- Mar 2, 2009
- 343
I can't see this as anything other than good value.
If your travelling alone,much cheaper than a taxi. If 3-4 of you then getting a cab then become cheaper of course.
Compare to driving and parking costs into Brighton as well as the aggro of trying to find a space.Plus they are clean,modern,have electronic time tables.Christ,what more could you want.
Ok I rarely use it but 2.20 is no rip off.
If your travelling alone,much cheaper than a taxi. If 3-4 of you then getting a cab then become cheaper of course.
Compare to driving and parking costs into Brighton as well as the aggro of trying to find a space.Plus they are clean,modern,have electronic time tables.Christ,what more could you want.
Ok I rarely use it but 2.20 is no rip off.
Return of the Rev
Well-known member
Cost a pound each for aldershot away back in the mid 70's happy days!
Thunder Bolt
Silly old bat
I ordered a Key card last Tues, it arrived on Thurs, and able to use it on Friday after having loaded it online straight after ordering it. I'm not 100% sure how instantaneous top ups are.
There is a City Centre fare of £2 within a certain radius of the Clock Tower but it isn't very far.
There is a City Centre fare of £2 within a certain radius of the Clock Tower but it isn't very far.
How do you know it's the best? Since I only live here, I don't know what others are like.
As you say, it's cheaper for 3 of us to order a taxi to our door, and drive us to exactly where we want to go in town, than it is for us to go to a bus stop and get on a bus that was making the journey anyway. How can that be seen as good value?
Is that a day pass?
Thunder Bolt
Silly old bat
One journey but cheaper than the £2.20 quoted in the OP. There's also a Short Hop journey for £1.50
Brighton Hove Bus and Coach Company