Devon MPs and councillors quiz bus boss over rising fares for schoolchildren

The boss of Stagecoach South West has been meeting with local MPs and councillors amid growing concern at ‘unprecedented’ fare increases they say will hit schoolchildren and families hardest.

Rising prices under a new fare structure will affect all school children from the end of August and changes in ticketing methods mean children as young as 11 will be forced to use a smart phone every day to get reduced rates. The changes have been heavily criticised by parents.

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Torridge and West Devon MP Sir Geoffrey Cox together with South West Devon MP Rebecca Smith met with Peter Knight, chief executive for Stagecoach South West on Monday (August 11).

Above: Stagecoach South West chief executive Peter Knight has met with Devon MPs Sir Geoffrey Cox and Rebecca Smith to look at ways the bus fare issue can be resolved. Credit: Office of Sir Geoffrey Cox

Sir Geoffrey said: “Over the past fortnight, we have been in contact with Stagecoach following their unexpected announcement of substantial fare increases, which has caused understandable concern amongst many constituents.

“These unprecedented rises have fallen most heavily on school children using specific routes across parts of Torridge and West Devon and we were determined to ensure their impact was fully understood by the company’s leadership.

“As a result of our discussions, we secured an agreement to review the current travel zones, to reconsider the requirement for pupils to use smartphones for ticketing and to extend concessionary fares from those aged up to 16 to include students up to 18.

“We told Mr Knight that we had been appalled at the way in which many families first learned of these increases and emphasised the severe effect they would have on household budgets.”

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The MP said Mr Knight had explained that the rise in national insurance contributions had placed an additional £1.2million burden on Stagecoach’s Devon operations — the equivalent of an extra £3,500 per bus per year — and this was the driving factor behind the fare increases.

Ms Smith added: “I am pleased Sir Geoffrey and I have been able to meet with Mr Knight to raise a wide range of parents’ concerns in our constituencies. In particular, I would like to thank Mr Knight for agreeing to look at pricing for 16 to 18-year-olds, hard copies of tickets and re-zoning to create fairer pricing.

“Whilst we don't yet have firm solutions to anything at this stage — and I'm aware that time is ticking — Sir Geoffrey and I will keep making the case for the solutions Mr Knight is considering and the issues still to be covered. We are also urging Devon County Council to step in where services have been deemed commercially unviable and have requested a meeting next week.

“I encourage my constituents in South West Devon to keep emailing me with any issues that they would like me to raise with Stagecoach.”

Devon County Council held a meeting with Mr Knight yesterday (Tuesday, August 12) which included Torrington’s Councillor Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin, plus Cllr Jacqi Hodgson, Cllr James Buczowski and Damien Jones, the council’s deputy director for transport operations.

Cllr Cottle-Hunkin said it had been a productive meeting and they had raised the concerns brought to them by Devon residents.

She added: “Peter Knight has agreed to look into what can be done at Stagecoach for Devon.

“We all recognise the challenges for our large rural county and the cost of delivering services, and is something we all need to be working together on with our various partner organisations and with Devon MPs to make sure central government listens, understands and acts accordingly. Not just for public transport but across all of our vital services here in Devon.”

In a statement provided to the North Devon Gazette today (Wednesday), Peter Knight said: “We value the constructive discussions we have had with various organisations and individuals over the past days and we welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with Devon County Council to find solutions that meet the needs of our communities.

“We understand the strength of feeling about recent fare changes, particularly for young people, and we are committed to reviewing our travel zones and ticketing options.

“Like many operators, we face significant increases in operating costs and in rural areas such as Torridge and West Devon the cost of delivering services is higher due to longer distances travelled and lower overall passenger numbers.

“We must ensure that revenue covers the cost of running a safe and reliable network, but we are determined to explore every avenue to keep travel affordable and accessible for all.”