Bid to speed up bus smart-card ticket system
BRISTOL'S biggest bus operator has announced it is speeding up the process of introducing a smart-card ticket system in the city.
FirstGroup – the firm which owns and operates First Bus – has revealed it is looking at ways of attracting more passengers on to its buses at a time when the business has been struggling.
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The company, which operates in most of the major towns and cities in the county, has also announced it is also concentrating its resources on the more affluent areas.
The firm said a combination of soaring fuel prices, falling demand in struggling areas and cuts in subsidies has meant that some of its bus franchises are struggling. But in areas such as Bristol where demand has continued to rise the firm is planning to increase its presence and investment in its services.
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Although First is Bristol's biggest bus operator by some distance, the firm has had a difficult relationship with the council in recent years.
And as reported in the Post, the city council's transport boss Tim Kent wants to seize control of bus services in the city.
Despite the row First is speeding up its plans for a smart card system for the city similar to the one operating in London. At the same time the company is looking to cut its ties with the centres where services are struggling.
The company has also announced it is introducing new livery on its vehicles over the coming months.
Around £160 million is being spent on 1,000 new buses and another £4 million on refurbishing buses which still have several years of service left.
The decision to refurbish the buses was taken following pressure from passenger groups and passengers and will see the interior as well as the exterior of buses upgraded.
As part of the move towards a ticketless system the firm is spending £27 million on a new system that has already been tested in Bath.
A spokesman for the firm said: "The technology will also enable us to offer customers touch-in, touch-out contactless payment using their bank cards.
"This will help us to reduce the barriers to bus travel. This next-generation ticketing will not only reduce both cash transactions and boarding times but will enable us to offer a wide range of ticket products including the ability to cap daily and weekly fares.
"The equipment also has the capability to accept payment by mobile phone."
The firm said that cuts in subsidies has meant that it has to reassess its services in Bristol. The firm will now concentrate on the busier routes and add more services where demand is highest such as Whiteladies Road.
A spokesman said: "During the year in the Bristol area, where the level of tendered work has reduced as a result of reductions in local authority funding, we reinvested the mileage saved to enhance frequencies on our key corridors which have the potential for further strong growth.
"Fare promotions have also been introduced and, alongside the delivery of highway infrastructure improvements by our local authority partners, we have seen an encouraging increase in patronage to date."
The firm has already sold off less profitable operations in North Devon and King's Lynn and a number of other depots, and is looking at other sales. The firm said trading in some cities in Scotland and the North of England was particularly tough and that cost efficiencies would not be enough to offset the impact of reduced government subsidies and fuel costs.
According to the figures released yesterday bus operating profits fell nearly 10 per cent to £134.4 million in the year to March 31.
Chief executive Tim O'Toole said a new management team was working on a plan to encourage growth.
Mr O'Toole said: "We have a very strong platform to grow in UK bus. The vast majority of our bus operations generate good growth and returns with opportunities to grow further.
"However, there is scope to reposition our portfolio to concentrate on those areas with the greatest potential."
The company added that it is a very string position in terms of bidding for the new West of England rail franchise.
FirstGroup has around 8,000 buses operating in 40 towns and cities across the UK, carrying 2.5 million passengers every day.
Comments
by robdesbois
Monday, May 28 2012, 8:57AM
“@thisisbristol "Around £160 million is being spent on 1,000 new buses" Is this correct? Each bus costs £160,000?!”
by vrwrtuy
Friday, May 25 2012, 12:56PM
“I've caught the bus once since they abandoned the 3 stop hop on 1 April. My fare cost £2.40 where it would previously have cost £1. So in 2 months, I reckon the bus company have gained £1.40 off me in this increased fare but lost about £14 in 3 stop hop fares.”
by DM_Fishponds
Friday, May 25 2012, 9:24AM
“@(BE)P- "A spokesman for the firm said: "The technology will also enable us to offer customers touch-in, touch-out contactless payment using their bank cards. "This will help us to reduce the barriers to bus travel. This next-generation ticketing will not only reduce both cash transactions and boarding times but will enable us to offer a wide range of ticket products including the ability to cap daily and weekly fares."
If only some system of smart-card payment had been introduced prior to Fishponds GBBN (which is still not operational). Then there would have been no need for 18 months of disruption and £1.9 million in order to save 35 seconds travel time on a few buses in rush hour!
Another Bristol City Council failure!”
by Tiny_Steve
Thursday, May 24 2012, 10:35PM
“Indeed so, @BishopstonMan.
But the council can't do it themselves - by law they cannot set up in competition to First, they can only subsidise routes run by others where the bus company deem they are "not profitable". And whoever runs those routes is decided by The Market (if you believe Thatcher) or by The Oligopoly (according to everyone else).
First's underhandedness was shown when recently BCC decided to pull the plug on £1/2m of subsidy for late evening services - only for First to go, "oh hang on, we've actually now decided they were profitable and are going to run them ourselves". Hmm.”
by Erinaceus
Thursday, May 24 2012, 6:25PM
“@BishopstonMan
How am I supposed to recognise a rhetorical question?”
by BishopstonMan
Thursday, May 24 2012, 6:07PM
“"Now I'll say something you won't like...
Bus passenger numbers in Bristol have indeed risen. And they have risen particularly where the GBBN changes have been made, eg Fishponds Road. First and Wessex have increased the frequency of their services on Fishponds Road, Whiteladies Road and Bath Road, all are GBBN routes. Motoring costs in the past three years have soared, whereas the price of a day ticket on both Wessex and First hasn't changed. I know many people don't want to hear it, but those are the facts, aren't they?" - Tiny_Steve
Indeed but it doesn't make the fares charged by First reasonable or affordable does it? When you look at the large profits made by companies like First you have to ask yourself the question, why is the council subsidising these parasites and not doing it itself with lower ticket prices and ploughing any profits into paying for further transport improvements? Privatisation is the Tory utopian dream which has turned out to be a costly hell for public transport users and tax payers.”
by nljack
Thursday, May 24 2012, 5:40PM
“Never mind spending millions on bus livery get those smart tickets installed..... then the competition opens up ! we can then use other bus operators to travel around.”
by Tiny_Steve
Thursday, May 24 2012, 2:16PM
“BishopstonMan and katachua are exactly right. I vote for katachua's predictions coming true.
@OutofTownerrr - not sure what you were doing, given the most expensive fare for your journey is £4, in any case a single would have been much less.
Now I'll say something you won't like...
Bus passenger numbers in Bristol have indeed risen. And they have risen particularly where the GBBN changes have been made, eg Fishponds Road. First and Wessex have increased the frequency of their services on Fishponds Road, Whiteladies Road and Bath Road, all are GBBN routes. Motoring costs in the past three years have soared, whereas the price of a day ticket on both Wessex and First hasn't changed. I know many people don't want to hear it, but those are the facts, aren't they?”
by BishopstonMan
Thursday, May 24 2012, 2:12PM
“It was a rhetorical question Katachua! All your points are spot on, the council has to be responsible for the smart card and if the bus companies don't like it they can have their licence to run in the city revoked.”
by katachua
Thursday, May 24 2012, 12:12PM
“@BishopstonMan
"Why will Stagecoach NOT compete to run services in Bristol for example?"
I think you Bishopston people are a bit naive. We're a bit more sussed up here in Horfield ;-)
The whole point is that the big bus combines DON'T compete with each other. They have their territories nicely mapped out, and they don't step on each other's toes. Google 'oligopoly', if you're not sure.
The proposed First Smartcard is a perfect example of this. Let me make two predictions:
1. It will be incompatible with the Wessex Connect card and with any card BCC produces, in order to lock people into using First buses.
2. Once they've got it in place, they'll refuse to join an Oystercard scheme because of "the cost of conversion".
Remember - you read it here first.”