First Buses to change tickets to make travel simpler

The changes include updating multi-day tickets and simplifying the single and return fares.

One of the new tickets to be introduced is a five-day ticket allowing five consecutive days of unlimited travel in any fare zone costing less than the current weekly ticket.

A new Flexi-5 day ticket, available only on the First Bus app, is also being introduced allowing unlimited travel in any fare zone for five days out of a fourteen day period.

Prices of the available single and return tickets have been reorganised to simplify the understanding of bus travel.

The reorganisation has only changed a small number of prices.

It is hoped this will make it easier for passengers to compare the cost of individual bus tickets to the cost of multi-day tickets.

Tickets that can be bought both on the app and on buses will now also be the same price.

Steve Wickers, managing director of First Eastern Counties, said: “We are always looking for new ways we can make bus travel simpler and more accessible to those within the communities that we are proud to serve.

"We believe that these new options, as well as our continuing focus on maintaining best value for the journeys that people make with us, will serve to make the bus an increasingly attractive option for travel, and one consistent with the focus on clean air and reducing congestion.”

Steve Morphew, leader of the Labour group at Norfolk County Council, said: "Service cuts, route changes and increasing unreliability coupled with high emission increasingly ancient vehicles undermines any justification for fare increases.

"Encouraging passengers back on buses or getting them to switch from cars for some journeys means services have to be reliable and affordable.

"Increasingly buses have to be part of the emissions solution not adding to the problem. In the teeth of cost of living increases no fare rises are welcome and even freezes won't encourage more bus use."

Fare changes come into a force from January 30, 2022.