Users were shocked to find their bus fares had suddenly soared by an “outrageous” 50 per cent this week.
SaverCard and Intalink Connect tickets have been reworked from Sunday (September 6), with eye-watering price rises and withdrawal of adult and senior SaverCards.
Where the Connect tickets, which give unlimited travel within specific zones, were once £5.30 for a day, £20 weekly, and £74 monthly, they now cost £7.50, £28.50, and £105.
This still only covers travel within one 'zone' and the most expensive ticket, a four week pass for all zones, is now £154.
Hertfordshire County Council highlights that this is the first time the scheme has risen in price since its introduction in July 2024. However, Jacob Stanley slammed the well-above-inflation increase on an already "poor" service for the cost.
The trainee building surveyor generally takes the number 20 bus from Abbots Langley to the Harlequin multiple times a week and has seen his daily ticket price soar from £5.30 to £7.50.
“It’s forcing people to drive more and I’m considering getting a licence after this, which sort of goes against the entire philosophy,” he said. “They can’t think this is an acceptable way to look after their constituents.”
The 27-year-old also criticised the lack of warning, adding: “There was no advertisement on the bus at all. I’m from Cardiff and they would have been advertising this for the month before.”
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“Doing all this while the buses don’t even turn up half the time is disgusting,” one user said, while another labelled the rises “outrageous”.
Several people have taken to social media this week to ask why their tickets suddenly cost so much more, saying they had no warning of the rise.
A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: "The cost of operating bus services had increased significantly, and unfortunately this means that some discount offers are no longer affordable for operators or the council.
"We have therefore, in partnership with local bus operators, had to make some changes to the SaverCard scheme, and withdraw some discount offers.
"We appreciate that this is disappointing to many bus users in Hertfordshire and we are working to ensure the changes are as minimal as possible. Bus fares remain capped at £3 for a single journey, and this will fall to £2 from January."
As part of the same batch of changes, SaverCard tickets will also now only be available to buy in advance online or in-app, “to speed up boarding on bus and to simplify bus operator ticket machine functions”.
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