Fare increases planned for Ring and Ride buses

The last week of March saw the service's busiest since early 2020

Fares for the region's Ring and Ride services are set to increase for the first time in eight years due to cost pressures.

Charges for a single trip would rise from £1.30 to £2 if the plans are approved by West Midlands Combined Authority's (WMCA) board later this month.

Board members are also expected to award contracts to operators which will guarantee the service for a minimum of five years from 1 December.

Demand for Ring and Ride services has grown steadily, according to WMCA figures which show 2,487 people have taken a trip in the last six months.

Bosses said the last week of March was the busiest since the start of 2020, when the service was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The authority currently provides a subsidy of nearly £6.5m per year to run the service but this is almost half the figure from 2010/11 when its budget was around £12 million.

A WMCA report said income from fares brought in about £250,000 per year and that this was reinvested into the service.

Despite rises in inflation, charges have remained the same since April 2017.

The fees are much lower than the region's fixed route bus network – which will see fares increased further later this month – which has led to concerns people who do not need Ring and Ride might attempt to switch to it.

"Fares are now significantly lower than the standard single bus fares despite the significantly higher level of customer service," the report said.

"The current scenario could also potentially drive people who don't need this service to switch to it rather than using fixed route bus.

"Without any fares adjustments the service will become increasingly unsustainable and place further pressure on the transport levy."

If approved, the new Ring and Ride fare structure would be:

• £2 – Registered user aged 16+ / essential escort carer (up from £1.30)

• £1 – Registered user aged 5-15 (up from 65p)

• £2 – Adult travelling with registered user (down from £2.40)

• £1 – Child travelling with a registered user (up from 65p)

• Children under the age of 5 will still travel for free

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.