MUCH has already been said about the huge hike in bus fares that Network Warrington has recently introduced.

Rises of up to 65 per cent on some tickets have been widely condemned by our MPs as unmanageable to the average Warrington resident.

Bus passengers have made their voices heard by taking part in a protest at the bus station.

I know people who rely on buses to get to work and seeing fares shoot up when you’ve not had a pay rise for several years doesn’t add up.

Presumably the increases are to pay for the two per cent pay rise the bus drivers got last year after their long dispute. I don’t begrudge them a pay rise but passengers shouldn’t have to suffer for it.

I assume Network Warrington has got through that six figure sum the council had to stump up to bail them out in April last year.

Although I’m fortunate enough not to need to get a bus, apart from on rare occasions, I thought I’d check out the prices I would need to pay if I had to catch a bus to work.

Network Warrington’s website boasts: “We offer a range of affordable options. If you commute to work every day you can save.”

It also has a calculator so you can work this out.

According to the AA Routeplanner from where I live to Warrington town centre is 2.1 miles. The cost of an adult return for this journey is £4.20 for or £2.30 for one way – a journey that you can walk in 30 minutes.

I nearly fell off my chair, it is so expensive. I think last time I caught a bus it was £1.

So that journey would cost me £21 a week. Now I know they do various money-saving tickets so I checked those out to see what I could save if I suddenly found myself without a car. 

According to Network Warrington’s website the Touch and Go card, which they advise for anyone who has to take the bus three or more times a week, would cost me £24 – so that’s another £3 more than paying as you go! Or you can pay monthly – at a cost of £84 or £720 a year. Blimey.

I don’t spend anywhere near that on petrol and that’s even travelling well outside of Warrington as I often do about three times a month.

The website tells me there’s also a Midas card, but that appears to just save you from carrying cash around, it doesn’t indicate that it would save you any money.

The Plusbus combines rail and bus tickets, so that wouldn’t be any good to me. But that seems to be it.

So where is the incentive to use a bus, for folk to get out of their cars and on to public transport? Well we can’t afford to that’s for sure.

I believe that many more people will look for alternative transport – bikes, scooters or car sharing. That won’t help an ailing bus company.