The government might be crowing about having turned the corner on the global recession they’d rather entirely blame on Labour than the City of London and international market speculators, but the cost of living for those of us without mansions and MP’s salaries just keeps rising.
The latest price hike is an impending rise on bus routes subsidised by Lancashire County Council, which will go up from Sunday 3rd August following an annual review of ticket prices.
Lancashire County Council provides around 100 local bus service contracts throughout the county. These are a mixture of subsidised daytime rural and urban services, together with evening and weekend services which complement the overall commercial bus network.
In line with inflation, it has announced fares will rise on average by 1.7% with most single fares increasing by 5p for journeys costing below £4, or 10p for journeys costing above £4.
Weekly ticket prices will stay the same as they are now.
A number of fares which operate alongside commercial routes will be revised to match, as fares on subsidised services must not be lower than those offered commercially.
The Council is still reviewing the bus services it subsidises, after backing down on wholesale service cuts to many Lancaster estates and rural areas earlier this year after a vocifierous protest campaign.
Stagecoach, which provides many commercial bus services in Lancashire, made nearly £220 million in pre-tax profits in 2013.
Boooooooooo