Pricing
Pricing
(05 Aug 2017, 7:51 pm)James101 I'm renewing my company car next month so I've been looking at car leasing websites a lot this weekend. For cheap motoring, you can lease a Toyota Aygo from £70/month, inclusive of servicing, breakdown cover, tyres etc. Add in, say £100 month for fuel & insurance. It's only about £2/day more expensive than using a GNE 3+ zone month pass.
(05 Aug 2017, 7:51 pm)James101 I'm renewing my company car next month so I've been looking at car leasing websites a lot this weekend. For cheap motoring, you can lease a Toyota Aygo from £70/month, inclusive of servicing, breakdown cover, tyres etc. Add in, say £100 month for fuel & insurance. It's only about £2/day more expensive than using a GNE 3+ zone month pass.
(05 Aug 2017, 7:51 pm)James101 I'm renewing my company car next month so I've been looking at car leasing websites a lot this weekend. For cheap motoring, you can lease a Toyota Aygo from £70/month, inclusive of servicing, breakdown cover, tyres etc. Add in, say £100 month for fuel & insurance. It's only about £2/day more expensive than using a GNE 3+ zone month pass.
(05 Aug 2017, 7:57 pm)Andreos1 My car is paid off now. Has been a few years.
Even with the insurance, tax and repairs/servicing it is cheaper than using public transport.
The bizarre sight of petrol prices dropping and bus fares increasing, just makes it even cheaper.
(05 Aug 2017, 7:51 pm)James101 I'm renewing my company car next month so I've been looking at car leasing websites a lot this weekend. For cheap motoring, you can lease a Toyota Aygo from £70/month, inclusive of servicing, breakdown cover, tyres etc. Add in, say £100 month for fuel & insurance. It's only about £2/day more expensive than using a GNE 3+ zone month pass.
(05 Aug 2017, 7:57 pm)Andreos1 My car is paid off now. Has been a few years.
Even with the insurance, tax and repairs/servicing it is cheaper than using public transport.
The bizarre sight of petrol prices dropping and bus fares increasing, just makes it even cheaper.
(05 Aug 2017, 7:29 pm)Dan Isn't the purpose of the SmartZone scheme to allow passengers to travel on more than one operator? Why, if that is the case, would you ever expect it would be rolled out to Washington? Passengers would be paying a premium to travel on more than one operator in an area where there is just one.
The only time I'd imagine it would ever be considered by the SmartZone partners, is if the scheme permitted adding more than one zone to your ticket (i.e. Sunderland plus Washington), but even still, this would be priced higher than the comparable monthly ticket with one operator.
If you think travelling by bus is expensive, then perhaps you should weigh up the option of travelling by car (taking into account the cost of car, insurance, wear and tear of things such as tyres, petrol, etc).
(05 Aug 2017, 7:29 pm)Dan Isn't the purpose of the SmartZone scheme to allow passengers to travel on more than one operator? Why, if that is the case, would you ever expect it would be rolled out to Washington? Passengers would be paying a premium to travel on more than one operator in an area where there is just one.
The only time I'd imagine it would ever be considered by the SmartZone partners, is if the scheme permitted adding more than one zone to your ticket (i.e. Sunderland plus Washington), but even still, this would be priced higher than the comparable monthly ticket with one operator.
If you think travelling by bus is expensive, then perhaps you should weigh up the option of travelling by car (taking into account the cost of car, insurance, wear and tear of things such as tyres, petrol, etc).
(05 Aug 2017, 7:57 pm)Andreos1 My car is paid off now. Has been a few years.
Even with the insurance, tax and repairs/servicing it is cheaper than using public transport.
The bizarre sight of petrol prices dropping and bus fares increasing, just makes it even cheaper.
(05 Aug 2017, 7:57 pm)Andreos1 My car is paid off now. Has been a few years.
Even with the insurance, tax and repairs/servicing it is cheaper than using public transport.
The bizarre sight of petrol prices dropping and bus fares increasing, just makes it even cheaper.
(05 Aug 2017, 7:56 pm)citaro5284 But who wants to drive a Toyota Aygo
(05 Aug 2017, 7:57 pm)Andreos1 My car is paid off now. Has been a few years.
Even with the insurance, tax and repairs/servicing it is cheaper than using public transport.
The bizarre sight of petrol prices dropping and bus fares increasing, just makes it even cheaper.
(05 Aug 2017, 7:58 pm)Dan For the journeys I undertake, I would need a monthly/annual Go North East 3+ zone ticket. An annual ticket, if my memory serves me correctly, is around the £1,000 mark. Probably a little bit more expensive now, given the price increase not so long ago. The cost of this ticket is cheaper than what I pay to insure my car alone, without even considering any extra costs such as petrol, tax and repairs/servicing.
I bought my car outright so don't have to worry about monthly repayments, but I spend at least £40/week (£160/month) on petrol. That covers my journeys to and from work, a small amount of mileage associated with my job, and a small amount of personal mileage outside of work. Just shy of £2,000 in petrol, over the course of the year.
Thankfully my place of work has a car park for staff - not everyone is so lucky - but if I worked in a busy City Centre, there's a chance I'd also have to pay to park, which would be another cost that I'd face.
Someone in a similar position to me would save a lot of money travelling by bus (appreciating that my age and choice of car plays a big part in the costs I face as someone who travels by car).
I'm not so sure that petrol prices are still dropping? There was a big drop towards the end of 2014/start of 2015, but the price of petrol has steadily climbed again since then. It fluctuates a fair bit, but for every month this year, the average price of petrol has been higher than it was in 2016?
Source: https://www.petrolprices.com/the-price-of-fuel.html
(05 Aug 2017, 7:56 pm)citaro5284 But who wants to drive a Toyota Aygo
(05 Aug 2017, 7:57 pm)Andreos1 My car is paid off now. Has been a few years.
Even with the insurance, tax and repairs/servicing it is cheaper than using public transport.
The bizarre sight of petrol prices dropping and bus fares increasing, just makes it even cheaper.
(05 Aug 2017, 7:58 pm)Dan For the journeys I undertake, I would need a monthly/annual Go North East 3+ zone ticket. An annual ticket, if my memory serves me correctly, is around the £1,000 mark. Probably a little bit more expensive now, given the price increase not so long ago. The cost of this ticket is cheaper than what I pay to insure my car alone, without even considering any extra costs such as petrol, tax and repairs/servicing.
I bought my car outright so don't have to worry about monthly repayments, but I spend at least £40/week (£160/month) on petrol. That covers my journeys to and from work, a small amount of mileage associated with my job, and a small amount of personal mileage outside of work. Just shy of £2,000 in petrol, over the course of the year.
Thankfully my place of work has a car park for staff - not everyone is so lucky - but if I worked in a busy City Centre, there's a chance I'd also have to pay to park, which would be another cost that I'd face.
Someone in a similar position to me would save a lot of money travelling by bus (appreciating that my age and choice of car plays a big part in the costs I face as someone who travels by car).
I'm not so sure that petrol prices are still dropping? There was a big drop towards the end of 2014/start of 2015, but the price of petrol has steadily climbed again since then. It fluctuates a fair bit, but for every month this year, the average price of petrol has been higher than it was in 2016?
Source: https://www.petrolprices.com/the-price-of-fuel.html
(05 Aug 2017, 7:23 pm)Malarkey Don't expect the NE Smart Zone to be expanded into other areas such as Washington & Gateshead, was informed by Alan at Washington Travel Office the reason this hasn't happened is because Go North East has the monopoly of services, with no competition from the likes of Stagecoach and Arriva in the area, compared to the areas the Smart Zone operates currently, personally think I would rather see the Go-Ahead Group withdraw from area than be continuously robbed for bus fare on a monthly basis as let's face it, it won't be that long before i'll have to pay £2 or more for a single to The Galleries.
(05 Aug 2017, 8:28 pm)Malarkey It is when you have to use Go North East as a bus operator, hell this upcoming Tuesday I am using Cross Country from Newcastle to York, then on Thursday I am using the Megabus from Leeds back to Newcastle which has only cost me £4 for each journey which is cheaper than a GNE 1 Zone Day Ticket, see below the cost comparison between GNE, SNE & ANE based on Day, Weekly and Monthly passes, does not include Route/Area Day, Weekly and Monthly passes as I am merely going off of cost of the operators standard tickets.
Stagecoach North East
Dayrider = £4 - 7 Days = £13.50 - Monthly = £51.50
Dayrider Plus (All Zones) = £5 - 7 Day = £16.00 - Monthly = £61.50
Go North East
1 Zone Day Ticket = £5.10 - 7 Days = £21 - Monthly = £68
2 Zone Day Ticket = £6.50 - 7 Days = £27 - Monthly = £89
3 Zone+ (All Zones) Day Ticket = £8 = 7 Days = £34 = Monthly - £105
Arriva North East - Northumberland & Tyne + Wear Tickets
1 Zone = £4.40 - 7 Days = £17.80 - Monthly = £65.00
2 Zones = £6.00 - 7 Days = £23.50 - Monthly = £85.00
All Zones = £7.00 - 7 Days = £26.00 - Monthly = £91.00
Are Go North East's fares justifiable now compared to it's competitors who are evidently cheaper.
(05 Aug 2017, 7:23 pm)Malarkey Don't expect the NE Smart Zone to be expanded into other areas such as Washington & Gateshead, was informed by Alan at Washington Travel Office the reason this hasn't happened is because Go North East has the monopoly of services, with no competition from the likes of Stagecoach and Arriva in the area, compared to the areas the Smart Zone operates currently, personally think I would rather see the Go-Ahead Group withdraw from area than be continuously robbed for bus fare on a monthly basis as let's face it, it won't be that long before i'll have to pay £2 or more for a single to The Galleries.
(05 Aug 2017, 8:28 pm)Malarkey It is when you have to use Go North East as a bus operator, hell this upcoming Tuesday I am using Cross Country from Newcastle to York, then on Thursday I am using the Megabus from Leeds back to Newcastle which has only cost me £4 for each journey which is cheaper than a GNE 1 Zone Day Ticket, see below the cost comparison between GNE, SNE & ANE based on Day, Weekly and Monthly passes, does not include Route/Area Day, Weekly and Monthly passes as I am merely going off of cost of the operators standard tickets.
Stagecoach North East
Dayrider = £4 - 7 Days = £13.50 - Monthly = £51.50
Dayrider Plus (All Zones) = £5 - 7 Day = £16.00 - Monthly = £61.50
Go North East
1 Zone Day Ticket = £5.10 - 7 Days = £21 - Monthly = £68
2 Zone Day Ticket = £6.50 - 7 Days = £27 - Monthly = £89
3 Zone+ (All Zones) Day Ticket = £8 = 7 Days = £34 = Monthly - £105
Arriva North East - Northumberland & Tyne + Wear Tickets
1 Zone = £4.40 - 7 Days = £17.80 - Monthly = £65.00
2 Zones = £6.00 - 7 Days = £23.50 - Monthly = £85.00
All Zones = £7.00 - 7 Days = £26.00 - Monthly = £91.00
Are Go North East's fares justifiable now compared to it's competitors who are evidently cheaper.
If Stagecoach was in Hebburn, I would use their buses because it is cheaper and better than Go North East for value for money.
Also Stagecoach and Arriva do use Gateshead which should have Gateshead Smartzone and I wish NE Smartzone was for Tyne and Wear only not divied Zones because I live in Hebburn it cost me £4.20 return to Newcastle very expensive with no day ticket from GNE. Shame too costly.
(05 Aug 2017, 8:37 pm)Tamesider Bizarre it might be, but it has been going on for a number of years. Since De-reg, Single bus fares in GM have increased at more than 3 times the increase in fuel for motorists - albeit Daily/weekly tickets had risen at a more moderate rate*. However, they too now are racing ahead of fuel costs (about the same as RPI).
I don't drive, so would have take my brother's costings as a comparison. His journey to/from work is about 55 miles a week, and during the school hols it is taking him around 25 mins, achieving 40 mpg (Diesel Focus). During school term it can take 40, or more when there are roadworks/police incidents/accidents on the M60 (which is frequent), so I'm guessing fuel consumption won't be so good. Anyway, for now with diesel at £1.12 p lt, its costing about 12p a mile. That's £6.60 a week (parking is free). A weekly MegaRider is £14.50 (which he'd need if the journey was 15.1 miles a week, never mind 55), and the bus would take 40 minutes on paper plus connection time (M'cr Picc), plus walking at both ends. During the hols, this might be slightly quicker in the morning, but if anything, slower in the evening - more scheduled roadworks, more shopping traffic etc. Other than the occasional night out boozing, and MoT time, he never uses the bus as its too expensive, slow, unpunctual and infrequent (for evening Shopping).
I've always argued that fixed costs of motoring are an ENcouragement, not a DIScouragement. Why spend a fortune on tax and insurance just to have a car sat depreciating in the garage? But for the record his Insurance is £450, which he's not happy about as its "above average", he says.
*I've had cause to investigate fares on individual routes recently, and I might be a bit generalising in this statement. There seems to be greater variations in Stagecoach fares than I at first thought. Certainly, preliminary work for the GM Mayor on franchising looks like it is going to reveal some big differences in profit margins across the numerous corridors into Manchester.
(05 Aug 2017, 8:37 pm)Tamesider Bizarre it might be, but it has been going on for a number of years. Since De-reg, Single bus fares in GM have increased at more than 3 times the increase in fuel for motorists - albeit Daily/weekly tickets had risen at a more moderate rate*. However, they too now are racing ahead of fuel costs (about the same as RPI).
I don't drive, so would have take my brother's costings as a comparison. His journey to/from work is about 55 miles a week, and during the school hols it is taking him around 25 mins, achieving 40 mpg (Diesel Focus). During school term it can take 40, or more when there are roadworks/police incidents/accidents on the M60 (which is frequent), so I'm guessing fuel consumption won't be so good. Anyway, for now with diesel at £1.12 p lt, its costing about 12p a mile. That's £6.60 a week (parking is free). A weekly MegaRider is £14.50 (which he'd need if the journey was 15.1 miles a week, never mind 55), and the bus would take 40 minutes on paper plus connection time (M'cr Picc), plus walking at both ends. During the hols, this might be slightly quicker in the morning, but if anything, slower in the evening - more scheduled roadworks, more shopping traffic etc. Other than the occasional night out boozing, and MoT time, he never uses the bus as its too expensive, slow, unpunctual and infrequent (for evening Shopping).
I've always argued that fixed costs of motoring are an ENcouragement, not a DIScouragement. Why spend a fortune on tax and insurance just to have a car sat depreciating in the garage? But for the record his Insurance is £450, which he's not happy about as its "above average", he says.
*I've had cause to investigate fares on individual routes recently, and I might be a bit generalising in this statement. There seems to be greater variations in Stagecoach fares than I at first thought. Certainly, preliminary work for the GM Mayor on franchising looks like it is going to reveal some big differences in profit margins across the numerous corridors into Manchester.
Banging my head gainst a wall at Arriva's child ticket options.
Until we move, I need to get littlun to school myself - 2 buses each way, every day. I'm easy. I can get a County Durham 4 weekly ticket for £85.50 or push the boat out and go for an all zones one at £95. And use my phone for it.
The only option for littl'un is a daily child ticket at £5. I might as well get an adult durham county weekly ticket on the bus for £25, then it can be used at weekends, too.
I need to pull my finger out, make bigun shutup with the bored and get him to clayport library for a disabled bus pass, methinks. Task for the morning, though we need to head into Newcastle to collect something.
(29 Aug 2017, 9:05 pm)BusLoverMum Banging my head gainst a wall at Arriva's child ticket options.
Until we move, I need to get littlun to school myself - 2 buses each way, every day. I'm easy. I can get a County Durham 4 weekly ticket for £85.50 or push the boat out and go for an all zones one at £95. And use my phone for it.
The only option for littl'un is a daily child ticket at £5. I might as well get an adult durham county weekly ticket on the bus for £25, then it can be used at weekends, too.
I need to pull my finger out, make bigun shutup with the bored and get him to clayport library for a disabled bus pass, methinks. Task for the morning, though we need to head into Newcastle to collect something.
(29 Aug 2017, 9:05 pm)BusLoverMum Banging my head gainst a wall at Arriva's child ticket options.
Until we move, I need to get littlun to school myself - 2 buses each way, every day. I'm easy. I can get a County Durham 4 weekly ticket for £85.50 or push the boat out and go for an all zones one at £95. And use my phone for it.
The only option for littl'un is a daily child ticket at £5. I might as well get an adult durham county weekly ticket on the bus for £25, then it can be used at weekends, too.
I need to pull my finger out, make bigun shutup with the bored and get him to clayport library for a disabled bus pass, methinks. Task for the morning, though we need to head into Newcastle to collect something.
(29 Aug 2017, 9:13 pm)Adrian Arriva's child fares in Durham are absolutely disgraceful!
Is this of any use? http://www.durham.gov.uk/article/1983/Ap...s-bus-card
(29 Aug 2017, 9:13 pm)Adrian Arriva's child fares in Durham are absolutely disgraceful!
Is this of any use? http://www.durham.gov.uk/article/1983/Ap...s-bus-card
(29 Aug 2017, 9:48 pm)BusLoverMum Unlike bigun, who is a man sized, gruff, smelly 13 year old, littlun is still very obviously under 14. He is very disabled, though, so I definitely need to pursue that particular path. He doesn't get higher rate mobility, but it doesn't take a medical expert to work out that he's not the sort of 11 year old who can hop on a bus alone to visit grandma or meet mates.
The fact that the only option is £5 per day is what's floored me. I can travel anywhere in the NE for £95 per month! Sadly, I can only use one of those tickets at a time on my phone, unless I commandeer bigun's phone for him on school days!
(29 Aug 2017, 9:48 pm)BusLoverMum Unlike bigun, who is a man sized, gruff, smelly 13 year old, littlun is still very obviously under 14. He is very disabled, though, so I definitely need to pursue that particular path. He doesn't get higher rate mobility, but it doesn't take a medical expert to work out that he's not the sort of 11 year old who can hop on a bus alone to visit grandma or meet mates.
The fact that the only option is £5 per day is what's floored me. I can travel anywhere in the NE for £95 per month! Sadly, I can only use one of those tickets at a time on my phone, unless I commandeer bigun's phone for him on school days!
(29 Aug 2017, 11:24 pm)Tom They do the teen card where a single is £1 or is that just Tyne and Wear/Northumberland?
(29 Aug 2017, 11:24 pm)Tom They do the teen card where a single is £1 or is that just Tyne and Wear/Northumberland?
(30 Aug 2017, 8:38 pm)Adrian I'm not sure how it works in Northumberland, but POP entitles those in Tyne and Wear to the 60p/£1.10 single/day ticket. But then again T&W is funded via an ITA levy, whereas Durham and Northumberland are not.
(30 Aug 2017, 8:38 pm)Adrian I'm not sure how it works in Northumberland, but POP entitles those in Tyne and Wear to the 60p/£1.10 single/day ticket. But then again T&W is funded via an ITA levy, whereas Durham and Northumberland are not.
(29 Aug 2017, 9:48 pm)BusLoverMum Unlike bigun, who is a man sized, gruff, smelly 13 year old, littlun is still very obviously under 14. He is very disabled, though, so I definitely need to pursue that particular path. He doesn't get higher rate mobility, but it doesn't take a medical expert to work out that he's not the sort of 11 year old who can hop on a bus alone to visit grandma or meet mates.https://www.change.org/p/arriva-cheaper-...=219828756&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish.guest_form_reduction&utm_term=share_petition.guest_form_reduction
The fact that the only option is £5 per day is what's floored me. I can travel anywhere in the NE for £95 per month! Sadly, I can only use one of those tickets at a time on my phone, unless I commandeer bigun's phone for him on school days!
(29 Aug 2017, 9:48 pm)BusLoverMum Unlike bigun, who is a man sized, gruff, smelly 13 year old, littlun is still very obviously under 14. He is very disabled, though, so I definitely need to pursue that particular path. He doesn't get higher rate mobility, but it doesn't take a medical expert to work out that he's not the sort of 11 year old who can hop on a bus alone to visit grandma or meet mates.https://www.change.org/p/arriva-cheaper-...=219828756&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish.guest_form_reduction&utm_term=share_petition.guest_form_reduction
The fact that the only option is £5 per day is what's floored me. I can travel anywhere in the NE for £95 per month! Sadly, I can only use one of those tickets at a time on my phone, unless I commandeer bigun's phone for him on school days!
(01 Sep 2017, 8:12 am)Andreos1 https://www.change.org/p/arriva-cheaper-...=219828756&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish.guest_form_reduction&utm_term=share_petition.guest_form_reduction
I've just seen this on fb.
(01 Sep 2017, 8:12 am)Andreos1 https://www.change.org/p/arriva-cheaper-...=219828756&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish.guest_form_reduction&utm_term=share_petition.guest_form_reduction
I've just seen this on fb.
Good news for BLM.
https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/north-east/L...ungpeople/
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(02 Sep 2017, 6:18 am)Dan Good news for BLM.
https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/north-east/L...ungpeople/
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(02 Sep 2017, 6:18 am)Dan Good news for BLM.
https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/north-east/L...ungpeople/
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