Friday, January 01, 2010

Birmingham 4 London 0

Unlike the capital, bus fares in the West Midlands will be frozen in 2010.

Last year we criticised the OTT bus fare increases that hit the West Midlands right in the middle of the most vicious recession in decades.

We calculated that the price of public transport in Birmingham and surrounding areas had gone up by 70 per cent in four years- a rise unknown to any wage or benefit. Particularly badly hit had been single tickets and "Daysavers".

However, credit when due, National Express, the (fairly) new owners of Travel West Midlands recently announced that all bus fares will now be frozen for the first time in years.

In a statement displaying humanity, the company said: "The region’s largest bus operator is freezing the price of all bus fares into 2010 to help the region recover from the effects of the recession. Bus fares have traditionally been adjusted at the start of each year.

The West Midlands has the highest unemployment levels in the country, with over 200,000 people out of work. National Express took the decision to freeze their bus fares to ensure customers can continue to access education and employment at a low cost."

Look and learn, Boris Johnson.

2 comments:

Acidfairyy said...

Unfortunately there aren't any bus stops where I live. The closest one is the Maypole! If only they'd freeze train fares as well *le sigh*

Simon said...

It didn't last. Bus fares went up today.