Inner Zone, Outer Zone... Bristol First Bus fares change!

November, month of changes. At least it will be if you use First Bus. During a consultation First Bus run some months ago, the company got strong feedback on the issue of fares and they understood there was a need to do some changes. I am personally satisfied with the changes that First is going to implement in the fares, but I can understand not everybody will share my satisfaction.

Zones will change now: there will be a Inner Zone, which covers the old 1 & 2 zones (and a little further), and Outer Zone, which takes up to 12 miles from Bristol city centre, including Clevedon, Thornbury and even Bath Bus Station. Download the new Bristol fare zones map here.

Changes in Single Fares are particularly good for those who travel short distances. They will keep the 3-Stop-Hop for the same price (£1) and will introduce three new single tickets: to travel up to 3 miles (£1.5), between 3 and 6 miles (£2.5) and over 6 miles (£3.5), all of them for the Inner Zone. Customer won't need to know how far the route is, the driver will put the destination into the ticket machine and it will tell the correct price of the ticket. Return Tickets will just be available for journeys in the Outer Zone, and prices will remain the same. Day Tickets will remain the same, £4 Inner Zone and £6 Outer Zone. Night Tickets, which give unlimited travel between 7pm and 4.30am in the Inner Zone, will increasesfrom £2.90 to £3.

All seasonal tickets, which is what I buy, are reduced. Week Tickets will be reduced from  £18.50 to  £17 in the Inner Zone, and remain the same for the Outer Zone ( £22). Month Tickets are reduced from  £68 to  £66 in the Inner Zone and from  £84 to  £80 in the Outer Zone. Year Tickets now cost  £650 for the Inner Zone (before  £800) and  £840 in the Outer Zone (before  £1250).

I have to say that the comparison is done comparing current Zones 1&2 week, month and year tickets to Inner Zone tickets, which is not completely accurate. Fare changes are particularly bad for people travelling within the same zone (Zone 1 or Zone 2). However, new fares are good for those who travel short distances within the city centre, as mentioned before, and also for people living or working in areas that were Zone 3 before and have been incorporated into the Inner Zone now.

Children under 5 travel free and aged 5-15 will be entitled to get a 50% discount. There will be a 30% discount for 16-21 year-old students. There are no discounts if you pay with Bristol Pound. [UPDATE (28 Oct 2014): The student discount is NOW in place and students can benefit from a 30% discount in any ticket (single, day, week, month...)]

Changes will be applied from 3rd November 2013 onwards. Do not worry if you have a seasonal ticket expiring after 3rd November; existing season tickets will be accepted until 30th November. From 1st December, just new style tickets will be valid, though.

More info: www.fairerfares.co.uk and www.firstgroup.com/bristol

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?

LINKS
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• BBC - Smartcard: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-24049665
• The Post - Smartcard: http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Bus-firm-hints-Oyster-card-long-way/story-19636683-detail/story.html#axzz2fAt3KuSZ
• The Post - Consultation bus fares: http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/hold-consultation-bus-fares-Bristol/story-17994742-detail/story.html#axzz2fAt3KuSZ
• First Bus Bristol: http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/bristol_bath/tickets/bristol/
• What is Oyster?: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14836.aspx