Fares on York’s popular Park & Ride bus network are to rise from next month.
Ticket prices will go up by around 6% from Sunday, 6 February.
That is more than the current 5.4% rate of inflation – but operators First York and City of York Council said: “The changes are the first to be made to Park & Ride fares in two years and reflect the impact of inflation over this period – with a broadly similar percentage increase applied to all tickets except concessionary fares, which are frozen at £1.20.”
First York Park & Ride price increases
| Ticket | Current price | New price |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Return | £3.30 | £3.50 |
| Child Return (16-18) | £1.70 | £1.80 |
| Smart Day x5 | £14.75 | £15.75 |
| Smart Day x10 | £29.50 | £31.50 |
| Smart Day x20 | £59.00 | £63.00 |
| Weekly | £13.20 | £14.00 |
| Monthly | £52.80 | £56.00 |
| Annual | £528 | £560 |
The Young Person (16-18) Return is also frozen at £3.
MD of First York Ian Humphreys said: “We have looked carefully at how, in the first change for two years, we can limit price increases for customers as much as possible and balance this with the challenge of maintaining a sustainable network as we build back passengers to pre-pandemic levels.
“Using the Park & Ride for leisure and work-related travel provides excellent value with free parking and we have continued to ensure that the average cost per trip of making multiple journeys remains low.”
He added: “Our zero-emission fleet also makes this a more sustainable way to travel into and around the city, reducing congestion and creating cleaner air.”
Best value
First York’s new three-day fixed and Flexi tickets, launched on 16 January to appeal to new habits in commuting and hybrid working, can also be used on Park & Ride services.
The company says the existing Smart carnets with bundles for five, 10 and 20 days, remain the best value for travelling over a longer period – with the cost of a day ticket on these packages working out at £3.15 compared with the new adult return fare of £3.50.
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Deputy leader at City of York Council Cllr Andy D’Agorne said £9.3 million had been invested in bus travel in the city, bringing in 21 new all-electric double-decker buses since May 2021.
“Our city’s Park & Ride remains one of the largest zero-emission bus services of its kind in the country,” he said.