Tuesday 17 September 2013

First Bus smartcards coming in 2014?

Five days ago, BBC published in their website that the director of transport Peter Mann announced new smartcards could start next year for Bristol First Bus travels. The company has been considering the implementation of the cards since 2008. On the other side, The Post announced beginning of August that Bristol smartcard may not be introduced "as quickly as many would like". The most recent change First Bus introduced in their fares is the 3-stop hop, which was reintroduced after a consultation on bus fares in January.


Apparently, this future card will work in a similar way as the Oyster Card in London. Oyster Card is an electronic smartcard where the user tops up pay-as-you-go credit for travel and the cost of the fare is deducted from the credit. No need to mention that fares are cheaper than paying directly to the bus driver.
Picture taken from http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/transport-national/oyster-card/

 Being First Bus fares the most expensive local bus fares I have seen in England (compared to Leeds or Oxford, for example), I would be more than happy to have a smartcard introduced in Bristol public transport. At the same time, we will reduce our expenses in local bus travel and finally get rid of those paper tickets that get faded very fast.

For Bristol area, the most common tickets in Bristol are as follows:

  • Single ticket: For example, £3.30 (from zone 1 to zone 2). 3-stop hop ticket £1.
  • FirstDay:  £4 (zones 1&2) and  £6 (zones 1,2&3). If you are using a FirstDay from 7pm on, you will only need to pay  £2.90 and you can travel until 03:59 next morning. 
  • FirstWeek:  £16 (zone 1 or 2),  £18.50 (zones 1&2) and  £22 (zones 1,2&3)
  • FirstMonth: £60 (zone 1 or 2),  £68 (zones 1&2) and  £84 (zones 1,2&3)
  • FirstYear:  £530 (zone 1),  £630 (zone 2),  £800 (zone 1&2)
Single, return, day and week tickets can be bought directly to the bus driver. For the rest, should be bought either in the office in the Bus Station or online. There are other tickets available for those who travel every now and then, special offers for students studying in Bristol universities and schools, families and visitors (check Bristol First Bus website for more information on tickets).

Finally, What does the GLPCB's reader think about the possible introduction of the smartcard?



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