National Express announces freeze on bus fares

National Express West Midlands has announced it is not putting up any of its bus fares.

The price of every one of the company’s tickets will be exactly the same in January 2021 as they are now.

The company said there have already been four years of fares cuts and freezes up to now, including keeping the bus company’s biggest-selling product – the after-0930 day ticket – costing the same today as it did in 2013.

David Bradford, managing director of National Express West Midlands, said: “We think our customers have been through quite enough change for one year. Keeping our fares as low as we can is the right thing to do.

“Throughout the whole pandemic, National Express West Midlands has been getting hundreds of thousands of key workers safely to where they need to be. And we are here for our communities when restrictions get lifted and people are ready to travel again.

Buses are for everyone, and don’t forget, with Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone coming in next June, the easiest and cheapest thing you can do to clean up our air and fight climate change is to hop on the bus.”

Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, said: “This fare freeze will be very welcome news to people right across the West Midlands. With the economic impact of the pandemic putting pressures on so many family finances, it’s excellent news that National Express are holding fares down once again.

“Helping more people to choose affordable public transport is a key part of our transport plan for the region which includes connecting more communities with our Metro expansion, improved stations across the region – and better bus services. And with more and more electric buses now in operation, hopping on a bus is a great way of helping our region achieve ambitious plans to tackle climate change, with cleaner and greener transport. So, it’s great news that fares are being frozen once again.”