Sheffield passengers come second to First Groups £107m profit, as bus fares rise again

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 15th Jun 2005

Sheffield, and South Yorkshire, has been hit by another round of above inflation bus fare rises from the leading bus operator FirstBus, less than a month after previous ticket increases. The move comes despite a citywide 'bus commission' carried out by the Labour controlled Council which found that people thought buses were too expensive, unreliable and too few in number.

From Saturday 25th June, in general, adult single fares will increase by 10p which will constitute an increase as high as 8%. Both monthly and weekly tickets will also face increases on top of hikes announced last month that will mean rises of 15% and 8% respectively.

Managing Director of First South Yorkshire, Gary Nolan, notes in his letter sent out to councillors informing them of the increases "I accept that some of these changes may come as a surprise considering recent price changes but I would ask you to bear in mind the continued affect of above-inflationary cost increases". However, FirstBuses latest accounts show that they have made £107m profit nationally in year ending March 2005.

Sheffield Liberal Democrats have criticised both the Council, for doing nothing to stop the hikes over the last two to three years, and FirstBus for taking advantage of the bus users of Sheffield. The Lib Dems are also demanding that the Labour controlled Council outline what they are going to do to prevent FirstBus 'holding Sheffield to ransom' over fare increases. They are calling for the leader of Council to explain how the bus commission, paid for by taxpayers, has influenced FirstBus.

Cllr Paul Scriven, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: -

"The bus users of Sheffield are being held to ransom by FirstBus. These latest above inflation rises, just a few weeks before the last hikes, confirm our view that FirstBus are exploiting their position. Claims of increased costs don't stackup, nationally they have made £107m part, has been paid for by the people of Sheffield, we now know its profit first passengers second."

"The 'bus commission' launched by the Council leader at the expense of the taxpayer has proved to be a lame duck, a term which can also be used describe the Council in their failure to influence FirstBus. Despite Sheffielders making their views clear that service quality and frequency must go up and fares must come down, the exact opposite has happened"

"This shameless profiteering will have dire consequences for transport and congestion in Sheffield. It will lead to more people choosing to use the car and, in turn, greater levels of congestion. When will this Council do something about it instead of standing by and watching the situation deteriorate?"