Bus Fares

[Ginger66]

Why is it the West Midlands fares more expensive compared to the nations capital priced at £1.50 for a single trip yet Birmingham is £2.40 for a single trip.

[Tony]

Why is it the West Midlands fares more expensive compared to the nations capital priced at £1.50 for a single trip yet Birmingham is £2.40 for a single trip.

Because Transport for London subsidise fares in London and are now £1billion in debt and having to cut services. .

Now compare day ticket prices

[Gareth]

Why is it the West Midlands fares more expensive compared to the nations capital priced at £1.50 for a single trip yet Birmingham is £2.40 for a single trip.

The West Midlands still has some of the lowest fares in the country.

[2206]

The West Midlands still has some of the lowest fares in the country.

Kernow Adult Day Ticket - £12.00.
WM Adult Day Ticket - £4.60.

Kernow 1 week Adult - £26.00.
WM 1 Week Bus Pass - £17.50.

Kernow 1 Month Adult - £100.
WM 1 Month Adult - £62.50.

[Kevin]

Why is it the West Midlands fares more expensive compared to the nations capital priced at £1.50 for a single trip yet Birmingham is £2.40 for a single trip.

Also, people in London don't use buses the same way that people in Brum do
Here there's a lot of people that exclusively use buses so have passes, or use buses into town and back so get a day ticket
In London buses are just a part of the fabric of public transport, generally people only use them for a couple of stops as part of a journey likely involving the tube that gets them much further than the bus will

[Oozells]

Because Transport for London subsidise fares in London and are now £1billion in debt and having to cut services. .

Now compare day ticket prices

National Express West Midlands' knight in shining armour.

[Mike K]

National Express West Midlands' knight in shining armour.

Answers the question asked and is entirely correct though. NX ticket prices are highly competitive compared to most operators nationally. I use Go North East buses on occasion, in an area where average incomes, house prices etc are considerably lower than much of the West Midlands. Day tickets, pay monthly and most single fares are higher than NXWM's, in some cases considerably higher.

[don]

Tony is right but TfL do a vast amount more than just subsidising fares. Just one example is the bike scheme. And the reason they are in debt is generally because the current Government has cut the amount of money it pays them - rather like all local authorities - Northamptonshire is virtually bankrupt for the same reason - I wonder if they would have cut the amounts paid to TfL if Boris the Buffoon Pantomime act had still been in charge 😂

Back to fares - in London you pay £1.50 for a trip and any other trip you take within an hour of the first tap in is free - so any journey up to one hour in length with no matter how many changes is £1.50 which is excellent value for money - it also gives options for different routes - useful especially if there's disruption. All residents over 60 get free travel as well. It's all good.

Of course, when the likes of Southern and Thameslink manage to run a full service eventually, bus revenues will probably fall.

All that said NXWM seem to run a quality operation (as did their predecessor publicly owned operations) and the fares are definitely more reasonable than a lot of areas.