Go North East has launched a new blanket fare offer for those travelling around Gateshead with a headline maximum single fare of just £1.70 for any journey, and other offers across the region, as part of its summer savings fares campaign.
It also hopes to extend them longer term if the take up is good enough and more people get on board the region’s buses.
The offers follow the success of Go North East’s £1 evening fare offer to help people’s money go further and get more people back on board buses, in an effort to boost the region’s local economy, help reduce congestion and improve air quality.
The ticket offers are designed to offer a range of very simple headline fares with easy-to-understand fare zones that match borough and county boundaries. In Gateshead this sees the local zone extended to cover the whole borough.
Single, return, day and weekly tickets in each zone have been simplified, with reduced prices elsewhere across the Go North East network too, including an improved All Zones ‘go anywhere’ ticket offer.
Gateshead borough summer saving fares
The Gateshead zone has been extended to cover the whole Gateshead borough, so it now covers places such as Birtley, Crawcrook, Felling, Gateshead town centre, High Spen, Kibblesworth, Rowlands Gill, Ryton and Whickham.
- £1.70 maximum single fare – you’ll never pay more than £1.70 for any single journey when travelling within the Gateshead zone, and single fares start from just £1.30 for short journeys.
- £1.50 cross-Tyne single fare – if you’re crossing the Tyne between the centres of Newcastle and Gateshead, in either direction, then a special £1.50 fare will be offered on all Go North East routes.
- £3.10 maximum return fare – you’ll never pay more than £3.10 for a return journey when travelling within the Gateshead zone, and return fares start from just £2.30 for short journeys.
- £4 day ticket – make unlimited journeys within the Gateshead zone for just £4 a day. Available to buy on the bus or on the Go North East app.
- £15 weekly ticket – make unlimited journeys across the week within the Gateshead zone for just £15 a week. Available to buy on the bus or in advance on the Go North East app.
Similar local offers are being launched in Sunderland and County Durham, and fares across all of Go North East’s main fare zones, from Bishop Auckland in the south to Blyth in the north, are being capped at a maximum of £3.50 for a single and £6 return/all day unlimited journeys.
If you are travelling after 7pm, you can also travel for just £1 per journey with Go North East’s great value evening fare.
Martijn Gilbert, managing director at Go North East, said: “We’ve put a lot of effort into improving the local transport offer with newer and greener buses over recent months, and a new website and smartphone app with live bus tracking and more.
“These fare offers are the latest part of our efforts to get more people on board public transport and help support the recovery of our towns, cities and regional economy with affordable public transport that also helps reduce congestion and improve air quality.
“Our bus network is clean and safe to use, with hospital grade cleaning products used on board and no evidence of any increased risk of infection following comprehensive swab testing. As the country returns to normal, we cannot afford a car, congestion and polluting led recovery – we must get more people back on board public transport.
“We hope these summer saving fare offers, which can be bought on board the bus with a contactless bankcard or cash, as well as on our smartphone app, will encourage more people to give the bus a go and that customer take up enables us to keep them in place for longer.
Cllr Martin Gannon, Leader of Gateshead Council and Chair of the North East Joint Transport Committee, said: “Buses are of huge importance to the people who live and work in Gateshead, and to the region as a whole.
“That’s why the North East Joint Transport Committee is working in partnership with the bus companies to make buses as attractive and affordable as they can be.
“I welcome Go North East’s decision to temporarily reduce some bus fares in parts of the region, something that will surely generate growth in passenger numbers.
“I look forward to working with all of the local bus companies on plans to make fares more affordable permanently, in all parts of the North East.”
To find out more about Go North East’s summer saving fares, including offers that are available elsewhere across the region, visit www.gonortheast.co.uk/summer-saving-fares.