Nightbus fares are set to rise by up to a third as tariffs are increased again.
Brighton and Hove Buses will increase the cost of all tickets on its dedicated night-time services by £1 from September 15.
The mobile phone-based M-Tickets are also set to rise by 40p to £3.90.
Andrew Boag, of consumer group Brighton Bus Watch, described it as “regrettable”
adding that issues remained with the new ticket system.
But bus company bosses said they had tried to minimise any increase and continued to invest in improving the service.
Martin Harris, chief executive of Brighton and Hove Bus Company, said: “We appreciate pressures on the family budget.
“For families in particular we have introduced new savings and kept other increases to a minimum.
“We continue to invest customers’ fares in improvements to the services.
“This calendar year we have invested £7 million in 38 newbuses, to continue to improve services for our customers and improve air quality, and in response to customer suggestions we have added a number of extra journeys to improve a number of services both this spring and this autumn.”
Night bus tickets, which range from £3 to £6 in price, will all increase by £1.
However, customers can now use their Saver tickets on the service.
Regrettable
The M-Tickets price increase comes as the system’s trial period ends.
Launched in February, the paper-less ticket system is based around a mobile phone app.
Users purchase their ticket through the app before showing it to the driver as they board the bus.
It was introduced at a special £3.50 day saver price which has now gone up to £3.90 – the same price as the company’s Key ticket.
All other fares remain the same with a discount introduced for continuous payment on the Young Person’s Savers and Key cards from £35 to £29.
Andrew Boag, chairman of Brighton Bus Watch, said: “The rise is obviously regrettable but it is now the same price as the Key.
“However, there are still concerns with the app.
“I tried to buy a ticket just the other day but I couldn’t get a signal.
That is obviously something for them to look at.
“With regards to the night bus increase, users can now use their Saver ticket on the service. As a result they won’t have to pay the extra £1.”
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