news story

16th October 2009

MP Welcomes New Late Night Cinema Bus Service - but Calls for Fairer Prices

Northavon MP Steve Webb has welcomed new bus timetables which will make it possible for Thornbury and Alveston residents to see late evening films at Cribbs Causeway and still get home by bus. But the MP has called on First Bus to cut fares which can otherwise nearly double the cost of a trip to the cinema.

Under new timetables announced by First Bus, the 309 service which leaves central Bristol at 2250 and travels via Alveston and Thornbury, will now stop at the Venue at Cribbs Causeway at 2316. This will enable those attending late evening cinema showings or other events to get home by bus. However, high fare levels means that for groups of people it will still be far more expensive to use the bus than to share a car. According to FirstBus, an adult return fare from Thornbury to Cribbs Causeway is £5.70 whilst the fare for 15s and under is £4.30. The price of a regular cinema ticket for an evening showing is currently £7.40, whilst for teenagers aged 13-18 it is £5.90. This means that a sixteen year-old paying full adult fare will be spending nearly as much on his or her fare (£5.70) as on cinema admission (£5.90). Even for adults the cost of the bus fare adds more than 75% to the cost of the cinema ticket.

Commenting, Steve Webb said:

"The decision to route the late night 309 service via the Mall is entirely welcome, but First need to go further if this service is to be well used. Many of those who might use this service will typically be relatively young or on relatively low incomes. The cost of a cinema ticket is large enough but if it is almost doubled by adding in the bus fare this will discourage bus use among those who might use it most. Bus fares in this area are too high in general, but First should look in particular at this service to see if a lower fare would stimulate greater use".

Steve Webb raised the issue of young people's travel costs in Parliament back in 2007 following feedback from young people in the local area. The idea has now been taken up by South Gloucestershire councillors who are looking at introducing a young person's discount card, provisionally from April 2010.