Bus operators silent on fare increases

Bus operators in Coventry and the West Midlands remained tight-lipped about any possible price rises amid a recession that is likely to last well into next year.

The costs of transport industries have been increasing “at a far higher rate than consumer inflation for the last five years and that trend doesn’t seem to be abating”, according to Adam Rideout, Marketing Manager for Stagecoach Warwickshire.

However, earlier this month, Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England said that economic conditions would “get worse before they get better”, and inflation is likely to fall by one per cent in 2009.

Aside from fuel, which makes up 13% of the bus service’s total costs, labour, insurance and materials costs are also added in the picture.

Asked about a potential increase in fares next year, neither Stagecoach, nor Travel Coventry, the main providers of bus services for Warwick students, were able to give a final answer: “We have not made any decisions regarding bus prices for 2009,” Carly O’Donnell, Media Executive for the National Express said.

Adam Rideout added: “It is too early to say what the changes will be, we alter most of our fares in July every year.”

Recent economic developments, such as the drop in inflation that occurred last week, or the decrease in global fuel prices, might still have an impact on bus fares. Whether these trends will hold however remains debatable, as many things are bound to change by the time next year’s fares are compiled.