- Fares pay for day-to-day running of services, continued investment in new net zero buses and other customer improvements
- Changes reflect rising costs of running bus services, which have increased by up to 40%
- Stagecoach remains committed to offering cost-effective multi-journey tickets, ensuring excellent value for money.
From Sunday 31 March 2024, Stagecoach will introduce new fares across the East of Scotland.
Almost all the money received in fares goes towards paying for the day-to-day running of services as well as investing in improvements such as new electric vehicles and funding new routes and services. It also covers additional costs including paying government taxes which support public services and goes back into the local communities it serves.
The amount of money bus operators receive in fares to keep services running remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels, yet like other businesses, industries and households, Stagecoach face increasing operational costs, often above inflation, including staff costs, vehicle parts, maintenance, insurance and utilities.
The operator has also recently introduced flexible tickets, giving customers the freedom to travel when it suits them whilst making a saving as opposed to purchasing individual day tickets.
In East Scotland, Stagecoach are increasing the cost of fares by 6%, including multi-journey tickets which offer unlimited travel across specific travel zones – the more you travel, the more you save - and products like Flexi 5 support those who may travel less often or need a bit more flexibility by offering 5 dayrider tickets for the price of 4.
In October 2023 Stagecoach also removed ‘peak’ travel fares for certain commuter tickets meaning that day return tickets were reduced in price and valid all day. Although these will be subject to a small increase now, these are still at low rates for travel at any time of the day.
Douglas Robertson, Managing Director for Stagecoach East Scotland said: “Stagecoach has consistently delivered some of the lowest ticket prices in the country and we are committed to continuing to keep fares as low as possible for our passengers.
“As well as paying for the day to day running of the country’s vital bus networks, ticket costs help us to continue investing in improvements for our passengers and pay for bus workers who have worked hard to keep communities connected and services running during the pandemic.
“We are doing everything possible to absorb these cost increases and to help protect our valued customers at the same time as ensuring our own people receive fair pay increases to help them manage the significant cost-of-living challenges.
“That means that changing our fares to reflect the current climate is a necessity to ensure we can keep our services running and connecting communities across the country.”
For more information on the new fares in your area, visit Stagecoachbus.com
Stagecoach East Scotland
Stagecoach UK Bus is part of the Stagecoach Group and is one of the largest bus operators in the UK, operating express and local bus services across the country.
