Friday, July 25, 2008
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FARES INCREASE IS HERE TO STAY

By Lorraine Parker - Wednesday, May 14, 2008
UNHAPPY at the 100 per cent hike in the cost of Student Rider bus tickets and the haste with which the changes were made, the IW Youth Council demanded answers from Southern Vectis and the IW Council.
At their recent meeting, youngsters said they were unhappy with the way the situation was handled and felt it was unfair to both students and their parents.
They also urged both parties to involve them in future decisions.
Southern Vectis’s operations manager Marc Morgan-Huws said the 50p fare had to be doubled to make the service sustainable as the mandatory over-60s scheme meant the company was losing money fast while costs to the council had gone off the scale.
Council leader Cllr David Pugh said the decision was also taken at the 11th hour because of complications meaning it was not communicated as well as planned.
Cllr Pugh said: “We’re trying to iron out the complex finances behind these schemes. We still believe £1 represents considerable value for money and we now believe that the £1 option, for the forseeable future, is a viable and affordable one. We can see it working long term.”
Youth councillors also raised concerns about the way they were treated by some drivers and Mr Morgan-Huws urged them to make their complaints known.
He said he also hoped to work more closely with the council in future to improve the service as a whole.
He said: “We need to convince young people buses are an acceptable way to travel because we can keep these people on our buses for the next 50 years. We invest a lot of time and effort in young people.”