Arriva put Prices up again

[Barney]

RE: Arriva put Prices up again

(26/02/2015 07:40)Enviro400 Wrote:  You can't use monthly, annual , or school and uni term passes in Liverpool on QBP. Absolutely ridiculous and completely unfair. Merseytravel short sort it out. I have friends who rarely use buses asking if they can use their Arriva tickets on the Stagecoach 86. I have to then go through the rigmarole of explaining all the clauses to them.

Whether we like it or not, the fact that you cannot use one operator's pre-paid tickets on another operator's service makes perfect sense in this deregulated market. Would you expect to be able to use your Tescos coupons in Sainsbury's?

For those who cannot remember that far back, the 1985 Transport Act was designed to create a situation where competition was (sorry for the pun) the driving force. Also it is only in recent years that the main players have introduced monthly and annual passes as a means of retaining its customer base. As far as I know, Merseyside is one of the few ITAs that sells the likes of Saveaways and Trio tickets which enables passengers to use any bus service in the area.

I too have a friend who has very recently taken to using the QBPS 86 route and I have had difficulty explaining to her that she CAN use her day-ticket on both Arriva and Stagecoach buses.

London - the place where bus services were privatised but not deregulated - obviously doesn't have this problem.