NCT will be revising cash fares from the start of service on Saturday 1st April 2006. This revision, the first since April 2005, will see some increased fares, some reduced fares and many fares staying unchanged. Regular passengers using the NCT range of Easyrider cards to pay for their journey, will largely see their cost of travel remain constant, with the cost of an annual easyrider city pass and the “pay as you go” easyrider anytime 20 days price actually reducing.
The fare revision continues NCT’s policy, to offer a simple fare structure on-bus designed to, increase boarding times and reduce fare evasion, whilst at the same time encouraging passengers to purchase pre-pay smart card travel with Easyrider options.
NCT MD Mark Fowles stated “The increase is designed to reward our loyal users and to make travelling on our network quicker by speeding up boarding times, through the promotion of pre-purchase fare options and many of our customers, certainly regular passengers should feel no effect at all as a result of this increase”
He continued, “NCT’s fares in general, are still extremely good value for money when compared to virtually any other major city in the UK, and customers travelling on public transport in the city have a quality network second to none outside London”.
The date of the revision has been set to coincide with changes to the national concessionary travel arrangements.
Like many businesses, NCT’s costs have increased in the last year. Most of these have increased broadly in line with wage or price inflation, however the cost of diesel fuel in particular has been a large issue for the industry throughout all of 2005 to the present day, and the “futures markets” are predicting further increases during 2006.
NCT uses around 8.5 million litres of diesel a year, the price for diesel has risen from just over 60p a litre (net of VAT) in 2004 to a price today of over 80p per litre, a price which fluctuates weekly.
This is a 33% rise in NCT’s second biggest variable cost after wages. These increases are made even worse, as NCT(as all other bus operators) receives Bus Service Operator’s Grant of around 38p per litre from Central government, that amount this does not change with fuel prices, which means the actual percentage rise in cost on a litre of diesel, net of BSOG is even greater.
South Notts fares outside the City have also changed, whilst Pathfinder fares outside the city remain the same following an increase in January 2006.
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