USERS of one of the north-east’s biggest bus operators are facing hefty price rises after the announcement of increases of more than 10 per cent on some tickets.

Go North East has upped its ticket prices, blaming 'big increases' in the costs of fuel and parts.

The changes mean that:

  • A single fare for under-19s has gone from £1.30 to £1.40;
  • The cost of a day ticket has risen to a maximum of £7, compared with the former £6.30 for an all-zone day pass;
  • The price of a two-person DUO ticket has risen to a maximum £10.50 from £9.45;
  • An all-zone seven-day ticket has gone from £26.50 to £30 when purchased on the app, as well as Go North East’s Flexi 5 tickets, or £33.50 when purchased on a bus;
  • The 28-day all-zone ticket now costs £110.

Cllr Gordon Stewart, who represents Prudhoe South, said: “I appreciate the fact that the bus operator is facing increased costs as a result of outside pressures and the need for it to maintain an efficient business model.

"But I feel that it has not stated openly why such large increases are necessary.

"Price increases of this level will have a knock-on impact upon the everyday costs of people using the service - some may stop using the buses as their preferred means of transport in the short-term or even permanently."

Hexham Courant online reader Andy Montana said: “People wouldn't mind paying the extra rise in fares if the buses actually turned up.

“The 10 service from Hexham has been beyond appalling in recent weeks, shift workers having to wait until 11pm at night for the train as the late buses are regularly cancelled or don't show up.”

Ann Groves has a bus pass but said when family visit, they tend not to use the service because of prices.

She also claimed there is no timetable for certain services in Hexham and displayed QR codes don’t work.

Ann added: “The buses aren’t as reliable now as they were and there aren’t as many as there used to be.

“When we moved here five years ago, we had two cars, but we went down to one car because the buses were so good.”

Go North East said rising prices for diesel, parts, tyres, energy bills at depots, and drivers’ pay meant that ticket fares had to be increased.

The company said: “Unfortunately, all these things combined, mean that we have little option but to increase the prices of our fares and tickets to help us cover some of these.

“We appreciate that we are increasing our fares at a difficult time for everyone, and at a time when we have been experiencing some short-notice journey cancellations."

Hexham councillor Trevor Cessford added: "While it's never nice to hear of costs to customers going up, unfortunately, the costs to the bus companies, fuel wages etc have also risen, and we certainly do not want to see any more cuts to local services."