'Not Fare' say bus passengers (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

'Not Fare' say bus passengers

COACH passengers travelling to London from Cirencester are paying up to 15 times more than people boarding at Cheltenham and Gloucester.

The National Express 412 service is one of many routes across the country to include funfare tickets, allowing passengers to go to London for as little as £1.

But while passengers in Cheltenham and Gloucester are benefiting from the reduced prices, people in Cirencester who catch the same coach are left forking out the full fare to travel a shorter distance.

This week, Cirencester passengers voiced their annoyance.

Deborah Brewer, aged 18, of Cirencester, said: "I'm working in London at the moment and am travelling to and from Cirencester every week.

"When I come back I sometimes get off at Cheltenham to take advantage of the £1 tickets but somebody has to pick me up."

Jane Gorlin of Minety, said: "I didn't know about it because I book on the internet and have never looked into prices from other towns, but it's very unfair we are not included in the scheme.

"I travel to London once a fortnight and there are quite a lot of people who get on and get off at Cirencester - I think tickets should be reduced to 50p because we are half way there."

Another passenger said: "Cirencester is definitely one of the main stops and I wouldn't blame people if they bought a funfare ticket and tried to get off at Cirencester."

A National Express spokesman said the bus company hoped to expand funfares to "many more places".

She said: "For people in Cirencester it could in fact be cheaper to buy a return ticket to London without having a funfare.

"Everybody over the age of 60 automatically qualifies for a route sixty ticket giving up to half price travel and for other customers with a discount coach card a return ticket costs £12.50, funfares can cost up to £9 single so it would be more cost effective not to buy a funfare ticket."