Bus fares

I just read the following article and I was wondering what are people paying for their bus fare?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/6059577/Investigation-launched-into-bus-fares.html

Where Tim lives, it's £2.50 for a single from Dunholme to Lincoln, £4.50 for a return. A weekly pass is £12.50.

Manchester has several bus companies with varying fares.  In general, it's around £3.50 for a day pass and £11 for the week.  You can get a £40 pass for a month.  If you're really a fan, you can get a £60 pass that lets you travel on ALL of the buses for a month--not just one company's.

Where Tim lives, it's £2.50 for a single from Dunholme to Lincoln, £4.50 for a return. A weekly pass is £12.50.

I should also note that AFAIK, there's only Stagecoach in Tim's area, and only 3 routes that serve the village.  I'm not sure how much it would cost within the city to take a bus.

I should like to add that, once you leave the "main" areas of Manchester (city centre, near the universities...), it is more difficult to find a bus and there is a little or no competition.  So, if you have a Magic Bus pass because it's cheaper to get to work and around the city centre, you are out of luck if you want to head to Urmston, because only Stagecoach goes there.

That article is interesting.  I'm not sure how effective I think the "competition" is here. 

It varies a bit around the country, but Jim are you over 60? if so you would qualify for a free bus pass if living here.

Leicester has two (AFAIK only two) different bus companies and they're really confusing and have route numbers that are the same number and go to the same place but the fares aren't interchangeable.  When I was meeting friends for Exterminate 45, I took a bus to the Space Center, and when we all left in a group, we walked to a different bus stop for a different company but with the same bus number. I tried to give him my return ticket and was told it was for the other company. Really annoying, because then my friend had to spot me the money since I didn't have anymore change.  

 

The buses I have taken in central London are £2.00 cash or £1.20 using a prepay Oyster Card.  Using the prepay system if you ride several buses per day, your fare will be capped at the daily pass rate.  I don't know what the bus one is, but I know if you throw in the tube from Zone 4 it's around £6 for the daily rate.  So basically you could ride all the tubes and all the buses you want in one day for a max of £6.  I would say that's pretty competitive.

The wonder that is the London bus system comes up every once in awhile here in Manchester.  Especially after having to buy TWO days passes because your journey goes from one bus company's area to another's. We have heard (from friends who work for the Manchester public transport agency) that they wanted an Oyster card type system but that, because no one bus company was willing to try it out and work (ahem, contribute to the expense of) with the system that it looks impossible.  It's silly.

I always thought it was strange that it was more expensive to take a bus into Oxford (from, say 2 miles outside the center) than it is to drive your car in and park. The difference in price is astonishing if you've got a few people to share a ride with.

Is that the same in other cities? (Meaning, is it cheaper to drive in and park from the outskirts of town -  vs. taking the bus in to town?)

Is that the same in other cities? (Meaning, is it cheaper to drive in and park from the outskirts of town -  vs. taking the bus in to town?)

You mean like a park and ride?  Tim and I found the park and rides in both York and Stratford-upon-Avon to be cheaper over driving the whole way in and parking in a carpark (It was something like only £1-2 per person on the bus with free parking). 

You mean like a park and ride? 

No, I mean driving and parking in the town center is cheaper than taking the bus from home in the outskirts of town.

Bus fares are OUTrageous where I live.  It costs me £3.10 for a return ticket into town (one mile!) and £2.90 to get home one way from work every day.  And it goes up every year.  Plus, the really annoying thing is that the ParkandRide goes by my stop but won't stop -it's always empty, only cost a pound return AND kids ride free.
ANd OAPs ride free but children have to pay half up to 16 and students don't get any discount.

No, I mean driving and parking in the town center is cheaper than taking the bus from home in the outskirts of town.

Almost always-two adults, a teenager, and a child would cost $10.90!  The car would cost a couple of pounds.

No, I mean driving and parking in the town center is cheaper than taking the bus from home in the outskirts of town.

Ah, sorry. I read "drive in and park from the outskirts of town" to mean parking in the outskirts. Whoops.  

Almost always-two adults, a teenager, and a child would cost $10.90!  The car would cost a couple of pounds.

That's a good point - if the whole family is going into town, it probably is cheaper to just drive and pay for parking no matter what town you're going to.