Devon & Cornwall

Fare revisions from Sunday 25th January 2009

Taking into account the rise in its operating costs, First Devon and Cornwall is revising some bus fares across the network effective as of 25 January 2009.

The decision was not taken lightly. Marc Reddy, Managing Director, First Devon and Cornwall, explains: "As an industry, we are not immune from the pressures of the tightening economy and we have a duty, both to our customers and our shareholders, to ensure that we cover our costs and that the business remains sustainable. To that end, fares have to be set at a level that covers both our current and our anticipated costs. Fuel continues to be one of our biggest expenses.

"In the past year we have invested £2 million in new vehicles for Devon and Cornwall, and in the coming years need to replace a further 152 vehicles at a cost of more than £20 million to ensure that we are compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act (which demands all buses must be low floor, easily accessible by 2015)*.

"We know that nobody likes it when prices go up and we offer our sympathy to those customers who are struggling in the face of the recession. To try and help customers, we have kept increases as small as possible. On average, fares in the network have risen five or ten pence (this equates to an average increase of 4.5 percent). Season tickets are unaffected by the increase and a special six-month ticket has been introduced for those passengers wishing to fix their travel costs for a longer period of time. Season tickets offer customers significant savings on standard walk on fares, allowing unlimited bus travel from just £1.44 per day in Plymouth, £2.36 per day in North Devon or £2.87 across the whole of Devon and Cornwall.'

*Investment in buses: the replacement of vehicles in the Devon and Cornwall fleet will be done on gradual basis over a number of years.