Stagecoach Not Acting in Public Interest - Cheney Payne

Stagecoach’s plans to increase Cambridge bus fares before Christmas puts commercial interests before the public good.

Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Cheney Payne has expressed shock and disappointment today following Stagecoach’s announcement of their plans to increase ticket prices across all of their Cambridgeshire services.

Cheney said, “At a time of rising costs and in the grip of a global energy shortage making public transport more expensive is absolutely the wrong thing to do.  With the cost of petrol soaring and the climate crisis intensifying, making greener forms of transport more expensive is absolutely the wrong thing to do.

This price increase follows a number of cuts to vital Cambridge based bus routes which have left residents scrambling to find an alternative to get to work or school.   

Introducing this price increase, which increases the cost of a family ticket by £2, seems particularly heartless in the run up to the Christmas period as the rising living costs mean more people are struggling to make ends meet. 

After a year of reductions to Stagecoach services, this is yet another example of why Cambridge deserves much more ownership and control over its basic services, but it is clear in this commercial decision that residents’ needs are secondary to Stage Coach’s profit margins.

I strongly urge Stagecoach to reconsider, and to work with the County Council and Combined Authority to deliver a bus service that works for the public, and not just for profit”.