There are several bus routes which operate between Luton and Luton Airport, including three by the dominant local operator Arriva. The two principal services are the 'A', which is one of the routes which uses the guided busway to Dunstable, and the 757 which is a Greenline branded coach service that continues past the airport to central London.
There is a heavy demand for travel between Luton town centre/station interchange and Luton Airport, fuelled by passenger number growth (the airport handles around 16 million passengers per annum with aspiration for millions more) and the jobs that are generated as a result. A couple of years ago the 'A' service was extended to operate overnight half hourly.
Where multiple routes operate over a common busy core section it offers the customer a better service and shorter wait times: reliability and shorter journeys is just the way to maintain and grow patronage.
Historically I have used the A and 757 interchangeably, where the same fares were available. However a few weeks ago the first service available was a 757 (it was just after 2am!) and I learned that Arriva the Shires have decided to charge different fares for exactly the same journey. The single fare between the airport and town centre on the A is £2.30, whilst I was charged £3 on the 757. This revelation came after I started apologising to the driver for not having £2.30 in anything like correct or near-correct change.
My first instinct was that the driver was trying it on and would pocket the difference but a ticket was issued, and anyway the route 757 drivers are probably the 'top link' drivers (I've decided to let the three minute early departure go!).
So I asked Arriva why they charge different fares for the same service, using Facebook Messenger.
So there you have it. The Arriva Shires fares model is directly based on the operating costs of the service. I could have asked if customers got a discount every time a service bus operated a coach service (like the lucky people of Hemel often get), or if my fare on a local route should be different if a seventeen year old Trident turns up rather than a brand new Wright Streetlite. Also, the 757 service I caught only had me as a passenger: should I bear the full cost of operation or should Arriva be glad to get some revenue from it?
I like Arriva the Shires in the main. I like the busway (and am a little surprised at how successful it has been). I like the fact Arriva have taken a risk with the all night service, seven days a week to the airport. Even at £2.30 for an eight minute journey after watching airport staff buying £1.50 returns, I still quite like the service. But as you might guess I think Arriva's fares policy is utterly nuts. Any other examples of same operator, same origin, same destination, radically different fares?
There is a heavy demand for travel between Luton town centre/station interchange and Luton Airport, fuelled by passenger number growth (the airport handles around 16 million passengers per annum with aspiration for millions more) and the jobs that are generated as a result. A couple of years ago the 'A' service was extended to operate overnight half hourly.
Where multiple routes operate over a common busy core section it offers the customer a better service and shorter wait times: reliability and shorter journeys is just the way to maintain and grow patronage.
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| Arriva's 'A' route from Dunstable to Luton Airport uses dedicated busway for much of its journey including guided busway. |
Historically I have used the A and 757 interchangeably, where the same fares were available. However a few weeks ago the first service available was a 757 (it was just after 2am!) and I learned that Arriva the Shires have decided to charge different fares for exactly the same journey. The single fare between the airport and town centre on the A is £2.30, whilst I was charged £3 on the 757. This revelation came after I started apologising to the driver for not having £2.30 in anything like correct or near-correct change.
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| Same journey, same operator, 30% fare difference. |
So I asked Arriva why they charge different fares for the same service, using Facebook Messenger.
 |
| Really? |
So there you have it. The Arriva Shires fares model is directly based on the operating costs of the service. I could have asked if customers got a discount every time a service bus operated a coach service (like the lucky people of Hemel often get), or if my fare on a local route should be different if a seventeen year old Trident turns up rather than a brand new Wright Streetlite. Also, the 757 service I caught only had me as a passenger: should I bear the full cost of operation or should Arriva be glad to get some revenue from it?
I like Arriva the Shires in the main. I like the busway (and am a little surprised at how successful it has been). I like the fact Arriva have taken a risk with the all night service, seven days a week to the airport. Even at £2.30 for an eight minute journey after watching airport staff buying £1.50 returns, I still quite like the service. But as you might guess I think Arriva's fares policy is utterly nuts. Any other examples of same operator, same origin, same destination, radically different fares?