The cost of bus fares have increased for passengers travelling in Aberdeen from today.
First Aberdeen announced changes were being made so the firm could continue to operate the “highest level of service possible” for its customers.
This will include bringing in a new tap and cap contactless payment system.
The cost of an adult single ticket for a short journey will rise 10p to £1.70. And a day pass bought on the bus will rise from £4.20 to £4.40.
Children will face a 5p increase on single tickets. However, the cost of tickets purchased from a driver will remain the same as last year.
And a student day ticket bought on the bus will increase by 10p from today from the existing price of £3.70 to £3.80.
Students using the app will see a bigger increase of 20p, from £3.50 to £3.70.
Passengers attending concerts and events at the new P&J Live will need to pay £3.20 compared to the current £3 and £5.20 for a return ticket.
The public transport firm said it was continuing to offer customers the cheapest fare when they bought mTickets in advance of boarding the bus through the First Bus app.
One of the biggest savings will be for parents buying a Family Day mTicket for £7.50 – 50p cheaper than the same ticket bought from the driver.
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Graeme Macfarlan, commercial director at First Aberdeen, said: “These changes are essential to allow us to continue to operate the highest level of service possible for our customers.
“We have worked hard to keep any increases to a minimum and continue to offer customers the cheapest fares via mTickets purchased on the First Bus app.
“Our focus on encouraging more customers to purchase mTickets will continue, as this helps improve journey times and punctuality which are all factors we know are vital to customers.”
First Aberdeen said there would be no change in costs for frequent travellers using their best value Unlimited Ticket, with the price of these fares held at £57.90 a month.
The company is also introducing the next phase of the Tap and Cap scheme from July 28.
When customers use their contactless card, the system will automatically select the cheapest fares based on the number of journeys they make.
This means they will only be charged for a day ticket no matter how many times they tap the device in a single day.
Mr Macfarlan added: “We also wanted to continue with improvements across our contactless offering, as Aberdeen was the quickest to adopt this popular payment method on our buses across our entire UK bus operations.
“So it was the obvious first choice to be upgraded to the new Tap and Cap contactless payment system, similar to the London Oyster Card offering.
“The new system guarantees that customers will always get the best-value fare to suit their own travel needs based on their individual travel pattern and will make life easier for our customers, making buses more accessible than ever.”
FirstGroup announced it was considering selling its UK business earlier this year.
A spokesman said at the time it would continue to operate its services as usual.
To see the full list of price changes, go to firstaberdeen.com
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