I take it that it is the operator who sets the cash bus fare prices within the West Midlands, although a lot seem to follow NXWM and there pricing structure.
The reason why i ask is that it seems particularly unfair in some ways.
In Birmingham, you can travel anywhere within the Inner Ring Road area for £1 single, you can travel from Birmingham to Coventry for £2 single, but in the likes of Wolverhampton, West Bromwich & Stourbridge you can travel one stop and it costs £1.70.
Surely this discriminates on short distance travellers who don't live within Birmingham City Centre.
Wasn't the old fare stage pricing structure better, the farther you travelled, the greater the price.
There's already plenty of fare evasion with the current structure. A more complex structure adds time to the journey as passengers find the correct fare and drivers work them out and also makes the introduction of a Smart Card harder.
There is very little demand to travel within the City Centres of Wolverhampton or most places for that matter. The main purpose of the £1 fare is that it is targeted at visitors to Birmingham, and perhaps people who have come to Birmingham City Centre by another method of transport, but who wish to explore a large area around the City Centre. Broad Street from the main bus interchanges, or from Snow Hill to the Coach Station are two random examples. In Wolverhampton or Walsall this can easily be walked.
Don't forget 'Birmingham City Centre' covers a huge area, much bigger than the main shopping area to many.
Quote from: Stuharris 6360 on March 02, 2013, 07:51:48 PM
In Birmingham, you can travel anywhere within the Inner Ring Road area for £1 single, you can travel from Birmingham to Coventry for £2 single, but in the likes of Wolverhampton, West Bromwich & Stourbridge you can travel one stop and it costs £1.70.
Surely this discriminates on short distance travellers who don't live within Birmingham City Centre.
Outside the Inner ring road area, a 'one-stop' journey elsewhere in Birmingham also costs £1.70.
£1.70 is pricey for a one stop journey, but as mentioned, how do you stop the fare dodgers. The technology to identify, lift out of seat & throw off automatically doesn't yet exist ;)