Bracknell

Bracknell people are fuming at the price they are having to pay for catching the bus.

Despite fare hikes of up to 50 per cent for some journeys the Bracknell passengers claim services are still not up to scratch.

Transport company First has launched two flat fares for bus travel in Bracknell town. Prices are now £1.50 for a single and £2.50 for a return.

But the scheme means the price of a ticket for some short return journeys have risen by up-to 47 per cent while some short single Bracknell trips have risen by as much as 36 per cent.

Julia Daniels of Dalcross, Crown Wood, regularly gets the bus from Crown Wood to Birch Hill to see her mother and her return fare has gone up from £1.70 to £2.50.

She said: "I wouldn't mind a bit of an increase if the service was good, but that's simply not the case.

"This is our only bus service, so people rely on it. I feel it's about time somebody started to do something."

She claimed Bracknell buses are frequently late and sometimes do not turn up at all.

She said: "People can be waiting for their bus for ages, and in this weather it's freezing."

Arthur Rochford, 59, a security officer from Woodmere, Harmans Water said: "The fares have gone up by 40p.

"I get the bus from Brants Bridge to Harmans Water shops and it used to be £1.10 but now it's £1.50.

"I don't mind an increase of 10p, but this is ridiculous."

He added: "I feel sorry for the bus drivers because they get all the abuse, but they're just doing their job."

First's spokesman Andrew Taylor said the new rates had been introduced to fit in with other flat rate programmes in the country.

He said: "There are lots of places which now use the single-fare scheme, Reading for example, and for people making longer journeys the increase is not so much.

"It is the people who make short journeys and don't travel as often who will be affected the most."

He said weekly travel passes were available for £10, which allow passengers unlimited travel on Bracknell's buses, and can be bought from bus drivers.

He added: "Our overall performance is much better now than it was 12 months ago because we have overcome some staffing problems.

"There are, of course, times when buses are late and we do our best to make sure this doesn't happen often."

ic Berkshire ~ Bracknell