To support the roll out of its new fare structure across the local area, First Bus has organised a series of roadshows which will take place over the next few days.
Fares for journeys on First buses will change from 6th July, which will affect those travelling in and around: Bath, Cheddar, Chepstow, Chipping Sodbury, Chippenham, Clevedon, Dursley, Frome, Glastonbury, Midsomer Norton, Nailsea, Portishead, Radstock, Salisbury, Saltford, Street, Thornbury, Trowbridge, Wells, Weston-super-Mare and Yate.
To ensure people know what is happening and why, First will have a team of people out at the following locations on the following dates, handing out information and providing advice to bus users whose bus fares are likely to change.
- Wednesday 25th June, Weston-super-Mare (Regent Street) from 10am to 4pm;
- Thursday 26th June, Bath (Southgate Shopping Centre, by the Apple store/Debenhams) from 9am until 7.30pm;
- Friday 27th June, Yate shopping centre, from 10am to 4pm;
- Monday 30th June, Keynsham (library) from 10am to 2pm.
In addition, the company is currently producing 50,000 leaflets which will explain the changes in full.
The booklets outline the different fares available, for instance listing the period products available and the deals available for families travelling together. The leaflets will be made available to pick up on the buses themselves, and from key locations like travel shops, bus stations and libraries.
Sarah Wallbridge, Senior Marketing Manager for First in West of England said: “We have deliberately picked busy locations, and mostly shopping centres, for these roadshow events so that we can talk to as many people as possible, ensuring that they know what is happening and why.
“In many cases the same locations were used when we were running our fare consultation events, so in returning to them we are bringing things full circle and are doing what we can to show those people who took part in the consultation what has happened as a result of their feedback.
“We hope that people – whether they are existing bus users or not – will come along to these events to find out more about the changes that are being made.
“If people can’t come along in person though they should be able to get the same information on the buses in the coming weeks, or from our specially created website www.fairerfaresforall.co.uk.”
In addition to running the events, First is also using newspaper and on-bus advertising to communicate the changes.
First is also updating the fare information displayed on buses themselves (on vinyl stickers by the doors). The latter acts as a prompt for bus users so they know, as they board, how much popular tickets cost (for instance day, week and monthly ticket prices are often shown). This means bus users can make informed decisions regarding the best ticket for them.
Customers wanting more information about what is happening and why are also able to log onto the specially created website. They can also tweet First to ask questions regarding the changes using the hashtag #fairerfares and the company will endeavour to reply to them directly.