FIRST York will be putting ticket prices up from January 16 – but says it is also launching a new range of ‘Flexi tickets’ to provide passengers with more travel options.

It also insists that the fare increases for many tickets bought on buses will be ‘well below the rate of inflation’.

The cost of tickets bought online will rise more sharply. That is because in the past buying tickets online has been cheaper. The cost of mTickets bought on the First York app will still be cheaper in future, but will be more closely matched to the on-bus fare, the company says.

From January 16, the price of a short journey adult single ticket will remain £1.20.

The cost of a medium-journey adult single ticket, however, will increase to £2.20 (the same as online), while a single adult ticket for a longer journey will rise to £2.60.

A FirstDay adult ticket bought on the bus will cost £4.60 (up from £4.50) while a FirstDay mTicket bought online will cost £4.40 (up from £4.05).

A FirstWeek adult ticket will cost £18 when bought on the bus (up from £17.50) while to buy the same ticket online will cost £17 (up from £15.75).

Meanwhile, the cost of a monthly FirstMonth adult ticket - which can only be bought online - will rise from £55 to £60.

First says it will also be responding to ‘new habits in commuting and hybrid working’ by creating 3-day and 5-day ticket options for people to plan their travel if they don’t need to travel every day of the week. There will also be a 13-day ticket allowing trips to be spread over a month.

The new Flexi tickets are designed to 'encourage more people to use the bus as travel behaviour adapts following the pandemic with work and leisure patterns changing', First says.

For passengers who buy weekly tickets, switching to one of the new Flexi-tickets will mean the fare increase is kept to a bare minimum, the company says.

That's because analysis of passenger data has revealed that 72 per cent of passengers who buy a weekly ticket do not use it every day.

First York managing director Ian Humphreys said: “We appreciate that customer travel habits have changed significantly and are delighted to be able to introduce these new products.

“We have looked carefully at how, in the first change for over two years, we can limit price increases for customers as much as possible and balance this with the challenge of maintaining a sustainable network as we build back passengers to pre-pandemic levels.

“Our new Flexi tickets create more options to fit travel needs. I encourage customers to check into these to make sure they get the best value. We have also continued to ensure that the average cost per trip of making multiple journeys remains low.”

The changes do not apply to University services and the Park & Ride.

Posters explaining the fares and new Flexi tickets will begin appearing on buses from Monday.

Details of new fares can be found here