Falkirk area passengers to benefit as First Bus makes changes to fares

A new full range of tickets for children and students across the region, as well as Stirling, are to be introduced from Sunday, March 15.

There will also be a new four-weekly ticket for the Falkirk area exclusive to the First Bus App.

One of First’s most popular tickets, the adult on-bus Falkirk day ticket, is to be frozen at £5, while student four-weekly tickets have been reduced from £64 to £59.80 for unlimited one zone travel.

Reduction on night bus tickets for Stirling University students are also to come into effect, meaning fares will cost just £1.50.

Customers are being urged to use the First Bus App as their one stop shop for fares, for speed of boarding and for up-to-date bus information before travelling.

First Midland’s new fares range for students and children means the child Falkirk day ticket is priced at £2.50 and a child Falkirk week costs £9.

Students can now also travel unlimited across any one zone for just £4.50 per day.

Stirling University students will see some changes to their ticket structure too as the operator prepares to introduce a brand-new London-style fare capping system for them in the coming months following consultation and feedback.

Stirling University students will also benefit from the introduction of day validity tickets rather than the current ‘return’ meaning they will now have unlimited travel throughout the day with this ticket.

First Midland Bluebird will continue to invest heavily in technology as well as service improvements programmes to keep improving the customer experience and service on offer.

The introduction of new state-of-the-art ticket machines has enabled customers to pay for their bus tickets in new ways, including via contactless, smart and mTicket.

The new and improved First Bus app means customers can now plan their journeys, track their bus and buy their tickets all in advance, 24/7 from their mobile phone.

Over 65 per cent of all journeys made across the First Midland network are now paid for using cashless methods with mTicket being twice as fast in transaction times compared to purchasing a ticket from the driver.

First Midland Bluebird is continuing to do all it can to incentivise the speeding up of journeys and the continued growth in the use of mTicket is a way of achieving this.

Graeme Macfarlan, Commercial Director for First Midland, said: “We generally need to review our fares each year to ensure we meet the rising costs that we face as a business, but we have worked hard to keep any increases to a minimum.

“Travel by First Midland still offers great value for money. Our new and improved First Bus App means our customers can plan their journeys, buy their ticket and track their bus all in the one place.

“We offer great choice and savings for our most loyal customers, and customers are urged to commit to longer term tickets to get the best value discounts on their travel.

“Our Midland Bluebird operation has seen a significant rise in digital payments in recent months, with over 65 per cent of our customers now using a ‘cashless’ method.

“This shows the positive response we have had from our customers to this investment in technology and incentivising these new ways to pay are in response to consumer demand.

“We are working hard to encourage more customers to convert to using mTickets or contactless, as this will have a further impact on reducing boarding times and will help us in the battle to improve journey times and punctuality.

“We are always looking to provide more value for money for our existing customers, reward people for behavioural change and to continually improve our offering to attract new customers.

“Now with the introduction of more ticket options for students and children as well as the new four-weekly ticket, there really has never been a better time to take the bus.”

For full details on the tickets available, visit: www.firstscotlandeast.com.