OPINION: Are new increases in bus fares fair? Harrogate Bus Company’s Alex Hornby

This is in spite of prices going up all around us - so, on the one hand whilst this is another dose of unwelcome news, the logic is there to suggest our costs to operate buses have gone up too. And they have. Wages, fuel and energy costs, as just three obvious examples, have all increased substantially.

It’s also worth reiterating that the changes in May represented our first price review in over two years. We held down fares during the duration of lockdowns and post-pandemic months. This was whilst our customer numbers plummeted to 9% of ‘normal’ levels.

In this time, we have also introduced more flexible ticketing. Gone are the days you need to sign up for a week or month’s travel to save; you can now buy bundles of day or journey tickets - with no time limit to ‘cash’ each one in.

We also have introduced a cut-price £1 fare for any journeys after 7pm, alongside our Sunday Freeway and Jubilee Freeway free bus initiatives.

A week’s travel in Harrogate, now at £15.50, compares favourably to weekly prices from other operators in York (£18), Leeds or Bradford (£20) and London (£23.30).

Excuses, excuses I hear some of you say. And, yes, I apologise that the timing of this latest fare review was not ideal as we battled through a poor period of service delivery (by our usual standards, at least).

Many of you should be well aware of the so-called ‘Great Resignation’ gripping the UK and particularly in the retail, hospitality and transport industries. Here in Harrogate, it is a bigger challenge than in many other locations we operate - possibly due to the high number of vacancies across the town, and so few seeking so many employment options.

I would hope that the measure of our company - or indeed any business battling through such issues that many indeed are - is how transparent and open you are when you fail.

We have extended the opening hours of our customer services teams, meaning we are now updating customers seven days a week and round the clock. Any cancellations are broadcast live on our app, website and at bus stops - and our social media, telephone, email and bus station teams are there to provide swift assistance.

I’m pleased to say that these challenges are expected to be short-term. We have increased our driver wages to £13 per hour, putting us over £2 an hour higher than local average wage rates.

We are looking at ways to be less operationally-driven and more person-driven with our rosters and duties. This new approach is bearing fruit. We have had nearly 20 new drivers sign up to join us here in Harrogate in recent weeks (including a few who have returned after discovering not so-green grass elsewhere), and once they pass through their training you will see them out on the buses.

We plan towards boosting timetables at the end of the summer, with expected improvements in performance across the board before we get there.

Meanwhile, our costs still rise and we prepare for our £15million of company investment - alongside our winning government funding grants - and a continually improving operation.