Opinion
Featured in the bath Chronicle, November 2009:
Dear Editor,
As of this week, bus passengers in Bath can take advantage of a new ticketing scheme which should make journeys easier for many travellers.
As of last Monday, the 9th of November, a new ‘BathRider’ ticket can be purchased which will be valid on all buses in the city. The ticket, which can either be purchased as a weekly or daily ticket, will allow the user unlimited travel on any operators’ buses.
This type of ticket, which can be used across different bus companies, is a nationwide first. It will help to make travelling easier, and in many cases cheaper, for Bath residents, in particular for those who have to get more than one bus to get to school or work.
By highlighting this scheme, I hope that as many local people as possible take advantage of the new ticket. It may also go some way to persuading people to use public transport instead of their car, at a time when we are fighting to keep many local bus services going.
When Conservative councillors in Bath first proposed the scheme, it was understood that it may be difficult to get the various local bus companies to agree on implementation, so the work of Council Officers in negotiating this initiative has to be applauded.
First Bus does not currently offer a monthly travelcard to child passengers, and this is something which local Conservatives would also like to see introduced. But this new multi-operator ticket scheme is an extremely welcome move in simplifying tickets and making bus travel more convenient.
With increasing choice becoming available to bus passengers in Bath with a greater number of bus companies in the city, perhaps we can start to see the long-awaited service improvements our city needs.
Yours faithfully,
Cllr Malcolm Lees,
(Cons, Weston)