National Express to cut fare prices as restrictions ease

National Express has announced price-cutting initiatives to make bus travel in the West Midlands cheaper, simpler and more flexible.

The bus company is cutting the price of the peak day ticket from £4.60 to £4 when the government removes all legal limits on social contact - planned to be 21 June 2021.

The price of a peak weekly ticket will also drop from £17.50 to £15 from that day - rolling back to its 2012 price.

National Express says the average commuter will save over £130 a year on bus travel.

And a child ticket will be £2 a day, down from £2.50.

In addition, the company will bring in contactless weekly ticket price capping in June this year.

This means customers will be able to travel as much as they like - they just show a contactless bank card (or the banking app on their phone) to the bus ticket machine each time they get on.

At the end of seven days, they will be charged no more than the cost of a weekly ticket - however many journeys they made.

National Express West Midlands will be the first company outside London to offer this kind of flexibility to customers.

David Bradford, National Express West Midlands managing director, said: “We're delighted to be cutting the price of bus tickets this summer to help get our region moving again.

“While most bills always go up, we're doing the opposite. Half of bus customers will pay less than they do now - nobody will pay more.

“These bus fare cuts mean travelling all day will cost less than the price of a burger.

“You will be able to catch as many buses as you like all day long and just wave a contactless card at the ticket machine. You don't need to work out what's the best price - we'll do that automatically and you'll never pay more than you need to.

“We know that when people try buses, they like them and keep using them.

“Getting people onto buses will build back our high streets, get people back into jobs and education, clean up our air and help the UK meet its carbon targets. ”

Raj Kandola, head of policy at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, welcomed the news.

He said: “It 's great to see that National Express have taken steps to make it even easier and cheaper to get around the region as national restrictions begin to ease.

“Flexibility and practicality is at the heart of this strategy - essentially, it will make travelling by bus more attractive, play a big part in encouraging modal shift and ultimately help to cut dangerous levels of air pollution.

“We need innovative solutions to solve the big issues we are likely to face as we emerge from the pandemic, particularly when it comes to linking people to opportunity and driving footfall on the high streets - I 'm sure this announcement from National Express will play an important part on that journey. ”

National Express is a patron of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.