FARE DEAL OVER LATE BUSES

23-08-2007

Passengers of West Midlands' buses will be eligible for refunds if their services arrive late under a scheme announced today. If The Stirrer's experience is anything to go by, that could cause bankruptcy.

A new partnership deal has been signed by the local public transport developer Centro-WMPTA and the area's largest bus operator Travel West Midlands, and will initially operate on six routes.

These are the 1 (Acocks Green -Five Ways), 377 (Walsall - Sutton Coldfield) 451(Sutton Coldfield - West Bromwich) 934(Birmingham -Doe Bank) 993(Birmingham - Streetly) and the 997 (Birmingham - Walsall).

Three of the routes - the 934, 993 and 997 - will have snazzy new buses boasting high backed leather seats, air conditioning and tinted windows.

Sounds nice.

But although the new arrangement kicks in November, a Centro spokesman admitted today that no mechanism has yet been agreed for how passengers will get their dosh back if their bus turns up late.

The Stirrer would love to see a simple cash refund, but what's the likelihood of that? Not great we reckon.

Our experience on some routes - notably the number 11 - suggests that if that's how it worked, TWM would end up handing over most of its revenue.

The Centro spokesman suggests it'll be "like the railways and based on punctuality".

Hmm. And how many people do you know who've had cash back for a late train?

A few, for sure, but usually the deal works as a refund on your next season ticket set against very broadly drawn criteria of punctuality.

Don't get us wrong; we welcome any effort to seriously improve public transport in the region - and this is one small step in that direction.