Overall 10% growth on some routes; firm acknowledges DfT work on cap scheme
North of England bus operator Transdev Blazefield has seen a 10% overall increase in passenger journeys on some of its routes because of the Bus Fare Cap Grant mechanism in England, CEO Alex Hornby has revealed.
The operator adds that revenue and customer numbers in the first weeks of last month are “ahead of expectations” after the introduction of the scheme. Remuneration has been well received despite initial concerns about the seasonal nature of some Transdev Blazefield routes, such as the Yorkshire Coastliner route between Leeds and Scarborough.
Mr Hornby also acknowledges the work by the Department for Transport in its reimbursement calculations.
The news comes as a positive turn for the business after fuel and driver cost increases encountered towards the close of 2022.
Transdev Blazefield is also seeing success separately in terms of ticket sales at colleges in Lancashire, which are ahead of predictions. The recovery in that market sees it in growth now compared to 2019. Mr Hornby puts this down to good partnership arrangements with those establishments.
“We continue to actively promote the £2 maximum fare deal, and it is certainly causing an additional positive buzz for the bus across our operating area,” says Mr Hornby. “During January, we saw obvious signs of growth in our customer volumes with particular gains on our longer, interurban routes.
“While there has been some switch away from season tickets to individual fares, we have seen a 10% overall increase in journeys made on the 36 between Leeds and Harrogate, and similarly on the Coastliner network that connects Leeds, York and the Yorkshire Coast.”
