Bus fares are going up in Falkirk – but not for everyone

Passengers are being urged not to miss the bus when it comes to taking advantage of travel deals being offered when fares change later this month.

First Midland Bluebird will make changes to its prices from Sunday, March 24, but claims it will continue to offer its best value fares to customers who purchase tickets in advance of boarding the bus via the First Bus App.

The bus operator states it has worked hard to ensure increases have been kept to a minimum and has introduced a number of new products and value for money options for customers – including the new First Unlimited product which offers discounted travel for loyal customers.

Passengers who switch from buying tickets from the driver to purchasing them in advance of boarding via the mTickets app will continue to pay 2018 prices in the main. Most fares have been frozen or reduced on the mTickets App, while most single and return tickets purchased on-bus from the driver will increase by around six per cent.

First Midland Bluebird commercial director Graeme Macfarlan said: “We generally need to review our fares each year to ensure we meet the rising costs that we face as a business, but we have worked hard to keep any increases to a minimum with ticket prices last reviewed in January 2018.

“Travel by First Midland Bluebird offers great value for money and we continue to offer a lower price for most tickets purchased via the First mTickets app, in comparison to tickets bought from the driver, so we can encourage people to switch and help speed up their boarding time. This allows us to improve access to purchase tickets on the go for the mobile savvy consumer.

“We are working hard to encourage more customers to convert to using mTickets or contactless, as this will have a further impact on reducing boarding times and will help us in the battle to speed up people’s journeys.

“We are always looking to provide more value for money for our existing customers, reward people for behavioural change, and to continually improve our offering to attract new customers.

“Now with the introduction of more ticket options along with our new Unlimited direct debit product, there really has never been a better time to take the bus.”

The launchof new state-of-the-art ticket machines in April 2018 enabled customers to pay for their bus tickets in new ways, including via contactless, smart and mTicket.

Now the new and improved First Bus app means customers can now plan their journeys, track their bus and buy their tickets all in advance, 24/7 from their mobile phone.

According to the company over 60 per cent of all journeys made are now paid for using cashless methods – with mTicket being twice as fast in transaction times compared to purchasing a ticket from the driver.

Visit http://bit.ly/MidlandBluebirdFares for ticket details.