PASSENGERS using Diamond Buses in Redditch are set to face higher travel costs as the company announces a fare increase starting next month.
The fare hike, which will come into effect on September 1, is part of a broader adjustment across the company’s services in Worcestershire and the West Midlands.
Diamond Buses, which operates a significant portion of Redditch’s local bus services, cited rising operational costs as the primary reason for the increase.
A spokesperson for Diamond Bus said: “Diamond fares have remained one of the lowest priced networks in the region for a number of years. In bordering county areas local and network fares are significantly higher than those on the Diamond Network and our new fares structure bring our ticket prices much more in line with those currently available in the market place.
“In the current economic climate, operating costs have escalated above inflation levels and bus ridership continues to be lower than pre-Covid passenger levels.
“Therefore, we need to align our income with the expenditure of running a bus network and to prevent cuts to services.”
For regular passengers, the fare increase will mean a 10 per cent rise in the cost of single and return tickets.
The adjustments will see the cost of an adult Redditch Day ticket rise to £4.80, while a weekly pass will now cost £20.
They added: “We have been able to freeze fares in some of our Worcestershire operating areas, but unfortunately, we have had to take the decision to increase some fares in Redditch and on our wider Network Zone A products to do this.
“Diamond will however continue to take part in the current Government funded £2 fare cap scheme, with a single journey costing no more than just £2 on most services across our network.
“We understand that the general cost of living has increased for many people, and in these difficult times, to hear that bus fares will also be increasing is not welcome news.
“However, it is an unfortunate necessity in order to make our network more viable and reduce the risk of significant service cuts to the bus network in the future.”
