New tickets to make bus travel easier

A NEW ticketing system, which will allow Bromsgrove and Droitwich commuters to travel across the county, is set to be introduced next year.

The scheme means, by July, passengers will be able to buy a single daily and weekly set price Worcestershire-wide ticket which will be accepted by any of the 45 bus operators running services across the county.

The cost of the new tickets is still to be finalised, but it is expected, as well as opening up the whole of the bus network to residents, it will also be around 20 to 30 per cent cheaper.

And, at present there are around 160 bus services running across Worcestershire.

It is hoped the new multi-operator bus ticket system will boost passenger numbers further by making it easier to use buses, especially when using more than one service on a single journey.

The scheme will be self-funding and money raised from the sale of multi-tickets will be pooled and then distributed to bus companies, based on passenger numbers carried by each operator travelling on the ticket.

Currently, if a passenger wants to travel from the Westlands estate in Droitwich to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital for example, they would need to buy two return tickets at a cumulative cost of £8.

Under the new scheme the passenger would be able to buy a county-wide ticket on boarding for a cost of £6.50.

A frequent user on the same route could buy the weekly ticket at £22 saving an estimated £5.50 per week.

Councillors approved the plans at a cabinet meeting last Thursday (December 15).

Coun John Smith, responsible for highways and transport on the county council, said: “This is something we’ve been hoping to put in place for some time and this system should make travelling by bus easier and, in many cases, cheaper for people in Worcestershire.”

For the latest bus timetable information, visit: www.worcestershire.gov.uk/bustimetables