Bus fares in Aberdeen are set to change with an adult week ticket reduced for those purchasing tickets on their mobile phones.
First Bus will increase some of its adult tickets with only the Child Day price being reduced.
It also announced a newweekend family ticket will be introduced, allowing unlimited bus travel for up to two adults and three children Saturday and Sunday for only £8 for the first time.
Of the service changes beingbrought in, the most significant will be on the X40 to and from Kingswells. Following consultation with local residents, changes will see fewer stops to deliver faster journey times to and from the city centre.
Further passenger benefitswill come with the extension of service 5 from Balnagask to Northfield via Aberdeen City Centre. A 30-minute frequency all week long will provide new links to the Dental Hospital, Maternity Hospital and Medical School.
Last year First Aberdeen froze prices onall four week tickets for adults, students and children; family day tickets and late night and evening services.
This year, child day tickets are being reduced by 10p from£2.60 to £2.50. The operator has also removed the off peak/peak travel restrictions, allowing all day travel for the same price.
The Adult First Week ticket has again been frozen at £18,however it can be purchased for a discounted £16 if bought via First Aberdeen’s M-ticket app. The promotional price will run until July 1. Adult singles will rise by 10p.
Other changes will see some small riseswill apply to 4 and 12-week tickets. Due to low useage, the return ticket is being withdrawn, with customers advised to purchase a FirstDay or Carnet ticket instead.
David Phillips, ManagingDirector of First Aberdeen, said:
“I’m delighted to be able to introduce a number of positivechanges in 2016 to better cater for passenger demand. There’s a revised X40 service which will deliver faster journey times to the city centre, something our passengers have told us directly that they want.
“We’re also providingadditional links to the Dental Hospital, Maternity Hospital and Medical School from the city centre and Northfield.
“On fares, we’ve endeavoredto keep any rises to a minimum but with many having been frozen for the past few years, some small rises have had to be introduced. I’m pleased however that we are offering a discounted weekly ticket to encourage use of mobile ticketing and our new weekend family ticket is certainly something I’m sure will prove popular with families looking to travel into town at weekends without the stress of traffic queues and the worry of parking.
“We are also holding our day,week and carnet tickets to continue to offer those who choose to travel by car a viable and attractive alternative.”
The full list of service changes is as follows;
- Service 3: Timetable changes to improve service reliability. Due to the closure of the Charleston Rd turning circle, Service 3/3G will no longer serve Charleston Rd. Charleston Rd will be served off-peak by extended journeys on Service 18. No change to frequency.
- Service 5 : Extended to operate from Balnagask to Northfield via Aberdeen City Centre, ARI (Cornhill Rd) and Foresterhill Rd.
- This Service will operate 30 min frequency Mon-Sun, providing new links to the Dental Hospital, Maternity Hospital and Medical School. Service 5 will give customers in the Northfield area the quickest journey to the city centre, with most journeys taking less than 30 mins.
- Service 11 : Timetable changes to improve reliability. In the evening, Service 11 will operate hourly between the city centre and Northfield (there is no change to services to Woodend and Kingswells). Customers in Northfield will benefit from an extra 2 buses each hour during the evening on the improved Service 5.
- The school day journeys between Kingswells and Hazlehead/Woodend will be withdrawn due to low passenger usage.
- Service 13 : Timetable changes to improve reliability. No change to frequency.
- Service 15: Timetable changes to improve reliability. No change to frequency. The terminus for Service 15 will move to Airyhall.
- Waiting time at Craigiebuckler has been reduced.
- Service 17/17A/17B/18/18A : Timetable changes to improve reliability and an hourly extension to Service 18 will be introduced at off-peak times Mon-Fri from Redmoss to Charleston / Cove. This extended service will operate via Wellington Rd, Charleston Rd North, Charleston Rd, Cove Rd, Earns Heugh, Loirston Av, Loirston Rd and Langsdykes Rd, returning via Wellington Rd to Redmoss. This reinstates a link between Cove and Kincorth, following customer feedback. This extension has been introduced on a trial basis and we will be monitoring passenger numbers.
- Service 20 : Following customer feedback, Service 20 will revert to its previous route in Aberdeen city centre (Upperkirkgate, Schoolhill and Union Terrace). The service will also revert to its previous frequency of 20 mins during the Aberdeen University term.
- Service 23 : Minor timetable changes to improve reliability. No change to frequency.
- Service 25 : Minor timetable changes. Additional journeys between Hillhead and Ferryhill have been added Mon-Sat between 18:45 and 19:45.
- Service X40 : Following consultation with residents, a revised route will be introduced to improve journey times from Kingswells to the city centre. Waiting time at Kingswells P&R will be reduced where possible. To improve journey times, the service will no longer operate during the day to bus port at ARI.
- Customers can alight on Westburn Rd at Foresterhill Rd for ARI. Certain evening journeys from ARI to Dubford will still serve the bus port. Full details available online, at the Travel Centre and on X40 buses.
The full fare changes areoutlined below; - Adult single Stages 1-2 will rise by 10p from £1.30 to £1.40. Stages 3-5 will rise from £2.20 to £2.30. Prices for stages 6+ have been frozen.
- Child First Day will reduce by 10p from £2.60 to £2.50. Off peak and peak restrictions have also been removed.
- Adult First Week tickets are frozen at £18 or reduced to £16 if purchased via M-ticket smartphone app until July 1.
- Child First Week tickets will rise from £9 to £10 and 12 Week from £90 to £95.
- Adult First Week tickets will rise from £64 to £66 and 12 Week from £162 to £166.
- New Family Weekend ticket introduced to offer unlimited Saturday and Sunday travel for up to 2 adults and 3 children for £8.
- The fare changes will come into effect from Sunday, March27 and service changes from Thursday, April 17.
