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Council news  >  Press Releases  >  City council strikes fare reductions deal with First

City council strikes fare reductions deal with First

12/11/08

Aberdeen City Council and bus operator First Aberdeen have together negotiated a range of fare reductions.

City council leader Councillor Kate Dean was invited for talks by First after voicing concern over the high cost of fares in Aberdeen.

Negotiations have now resulted in three cuts in fares, which will come into force on Sunday, 23 November:

• off-peak Family FirstDay tickets will come down in price from £6 to £5;
• the peak adult FirstDay ticket will be reduced from £4 to £3.90;
• as a special festive promotion to encourage shoppers to travel into the city centre by bus, the price of off-peak adult FirstDay tickets on Saturdays and Sundays will be cut by 50p to £2.50 up to Christmas.

Councillor Dean told the full council meeting today [Weds, 12 Nov]: “I see this as genuine partnership working with First, which we as a council should welcome. This is a major step forward and the beginning of an ongoing dialogue.”

Councillor Dean also warmly welcomed First Aberdeen’s commitment to hold all other fares at the levels set in September for the next 12 months.

George Mair, Managing Director of First in Aberdeen, said: “We constantly monitor our fares and the economic environment in which we operate and we are pleased that our package of revised fares will make a difference for communities in Aberdeen.

“The reductions in the off-peak Family FirstDay tickets (£6 to £5) and the peak adult FirstDay ticket (£4 to £3.90) will be ongoing and will benefit those passengers who require unlimited travel throughout the day.

“The reduction in the off-peak Adult FirstDay ticket (£3.00 to £2.50) is a special weekend festive promotion, making it cheaper than ever to travel into town for shopping on Saturdays and Sundays leading up to Christmas. This will, I’m sure, be welcomed at what is one of the most expensive times of the year.

“We are committed to providing our passengers with value-for-money options for travelling by bus and showing what a viable and cost-effective alternative bus travel is to private transport – these revised fares are a prime example of that.

“Alongside this, we are also committed to holding all other fares at current levels for the 12-months period from the September 2008 implementation date for the current fares structure. This will not only give passengers confidence that there should be no further changes in this period, but they can also plan ahead and budget in the longer-term.

“We have been in regular dialogue with the leader of the council on these issues and we are pleased that Councillor Dean has commended this fares package to the council and highlighted it as a good example of the partnership working that exists between First and Aberdeen City Council.

“Both organisations are committed to encouraging more and more people to use public transport and we hope that this can be achieved as a result of these fares revisions.

“We do work to make a difference for our customers at all times, introducing new services, improving punctuality and reliability, investing in our fleet and introducing new technology and we will continue to do just that in conjunction with our partners such as Aberdeen City Council.”

If you have any queries regarding this, or any other news story, please contact Aberdeen City Council on: 01224 522000.