No more free rides for commuters

Friday 28 February 2014

Liberty Bus has pulled their commuter bus passes as they say too many customers were using them to cheat the system and get free travel.

The pass was intended to be used for just two journeys a day, to get commuters to and from work. However the bus company says Islanders were routinely using it to travel much more frequently, and to cheat the banding system which sets different fares for different distances.

The passes were priced at £50.40 a month for longer journeys (Band B)  and £34.65 for shorter ones (Band A), and were intended to provide up to two journeys a day, Monday to Friday. However, Liberty Bus says customers were using them at weekends, as well as for unlimited travel during the week.

Marketing Manager Francesca Rotherham said: "It is not without careful consideration that the commuter passes were withdrawn from sale.  A saving on the adult cash fare is still possible with the replacement AvanchiCard unlimited monthly pass, as the price per ‘band A’ journey equates to £1.17 or a minimum of a 10% discount. The more you use the bus, the bigger the discount.

"The cost per journey is cheaper still if purchasing an unlimited annual pass, which is being kept at its January 2009 price for yet another year.  Both of these unlimited passes do of course provide added value in that they can be used for evening or weekend travel, in both ‘band A’ and ‘band B’, at no additional cost."

Ms Rotherham said the Unlimited travel passes were actually far more popular than the commuter passes, with 2,000 people currently using them, and a further 1,000 using a pay-as-you-go pass.