Fare changes announced for Bristol and Somerset buses

A bus operator has announced increases to bus fares on some routes in Bristol and Somerset.

From 28 July, ticket prices on First West of England buses in Weston-super-Mare will rise, including an increase in the day ticket from £3.60 to £5.

Their discounted return fare of £3.80 across Bristol, Bath and Weston-super-Mare will only be available for customers using the Tap On, Tap Off (TOTO) payment method.

Local single tickets in Clevedon, Thornbury, Yate, Frome, Portishead and Nailsea are also due to rise by 30p to £1.80

Besides changes to fares, First West of England have also announced that all student and young person tickets will be discounted by 10 per cent instead of the current 20 per cent.

Additionally, these tickets will only be available through the First Bus app or website.

The same also applies for all weekly tickets, although First West of England say that customers who use Tap On, Tap Off for each seven days of travel would pay less than the price of a week ticket.

A representative for First West of England said: "Tap On, Tap Off provides the most convenient and cheapest way to travel on bus for customers. Generally, we’re moving to a modern way of paying which is proving increasingly popular with customers.

"This is also one key tool for us to help improve bus punctuality – the more convenient and efficient it is to pay for a ticket, the more likely we are to keep buses running on time."

They also said the fare rise will help cover increasing operational costs and ongoing investment, including in projects such as their £50m investment to introduce electric buses in the region.

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