NX Bus cutting fares from June 2021

National Express West Midlands announced yesterday that daily and weekly tickets will be reduced in price from Monday 21st June 2021, when all current lockdown restrictions are expected to be lifted by the UK Government.

Express & Star reported yesterday:

The price of a peak day ticket will be cut from £4.60 to £4 and the price of a weekly ticket falling from £17.50 to £15 – back to its 2012 price.

And the company will bring in contactless weekly ticket price capping in June this year – with people being allowed to travel as much as they like.

A child ticket will be cut from £2.50 to £2 a day and it’s estimated the average commuter will save more than £130 a year on bus travel due to the move.

National Express West Midlands managing director David Bradford said: “We’re delighted to be cutting the price of bus tickets this summer to help get our region moving again.

“While most bills always go up, we’re doing the opposite. Half of bus customers will pay less than they do now – nobody will pay more. These bus fare cuts mean travelling all day will cost less than the price of a burger.

“You will be able to catch as many buses as you like all day long and just wave a contactless card at the ticket machine. You don’t need to work out what’s the best price – we’ll do that automatically and you’ll never pay more than you need to.

People will need to show a contactless bank card – or the banking app on their phone – to the bus ticket machine each time they get on. At the end of seven days, they will be charged no more than the cost of a weekly ticket – however many journeys they made.

National Express West Midlands will be the first company outside London to offer this kind of flexibility to customers.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/transport/2021/04/29/bus-fares-set-to-be-cut-in-west-midlands-as-lockdown-ends/

I understand that NX Bus were planning on doing this last year, however conditions imposed on bus operators in receipt of grant funding from Government meant that ticket prices could not be changed, which is another reason why fares did not increase at the start of the year, though I understand that NX Bus had no intention of doing this anyway.

The weekly capping is a great move, and something I suggested myself, the final icing would of course be a monthly cap, which could then potentially eliminate the need for weekly or monthly travelcards.

It is not clear from the above article whether something similar is to be introduced in the Coventry area, or if there will be any reduction in TfWM’s nBus ticket prices.

Summary of fare changes

  • Adult daysaver – reduced from £4.60 to £4 all day
  • Adult low-fare zone daysaver – £3.00 all day
  • Child daysaver – reduced from £2.50 to £2
  • Adult weekly ticket – reduced from £17.50 to £15.00
  • Monthly and direct debit passes to reduced – to be confirmed

Editor’s note: due to the government delaying the ending of lockdown until sometime in July, the above price changes are being postponed, a date will be confirmed in due course.

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About WMBU

Stu is the founder of this West Midlands Bus Users website.
He is not a bus enthusiast, but as a regular passenger takes an interest in public transport related matters, having relied on buses to get around for over twenty-five years now.

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