Merseyside bus passengers look set to benefit from a price war between bus companies.
Arriva have started slashing single fares on dozens of routes and now Stagecoach have announced that it is lowering fares across Wirral and St Helens.
It follows a decision to by the company to roll out its existing Stagecoach Liverpool £2 flat fare structure across Merseyside. here
It
means passengers travelling in Wirral and St Helens will now save up to
90p on single journeys. The flat fare is £1 for under 19s.
Fares for those
traveling across the river will remain at £3 (30p cheaper than the same
journey with Arriva).
Arriva, has now expanded its £2.20 adult flat fare
price from Liverpool to the whole of Merseyside. here
Elisabeth Tasker, Stagecoach Merseyside and South
Lancashire managing director, said: “We recognise the importance of
providing a reliable and affordable bus service option for customers and
we’re delighted to be increasing savings even further for passengers in
Wirral and St Helens.
“This is great news for bus users and we’re keen to push these savings out to all of our passengers across the region.”
The
firm said £1.50 adult and 80p under 19’s single fares would still be
available for customers who previously paid less than £2 for their local
journeys in Wirral.
Arriva said earlier this week that its
reduced prices would “bring greater consistency and fairness for
passengers wherever they live on Merseyside”.
But the news came
with a sting in the tail for Wirral passengers, who will not benefit
from the Arriva expanded flat fare on cross-river services to and from
Liverpool.
The price of a single journey is staying at £3.30 – a third more than for other journeys.
The
cost of an Arriva Merseyside weekly ticket has also risen from £16 to
£17, and a Liverpool Plus day ticket - which includes Liverpool,
Southport and now St Helens - has risen from £4.20 to £4.30.
Stagecoach
said its weekly megariders would remain at £13.50 throughout Merseyside
with under 19’s weekly megariders priced at £6.80.
Arriva and Stagecoach together operate 90% of commercial bus services in and around Liverpool.
from the Liverpool Echo