Yes. Meanwhile, Stagecoach have removed their return tickets, so you have to buy a travelpass or two singles. I guess they can claim that they haven't raised their prices, but the reality for people who use the bus is different. (Also means that the 2 bus companies that share routes won't accept each other's tickets).
Good. Public transport fixated upon the return ticket is sexist.
Wtf am I on about you ask? For years our transport system has been focussed on commuters who go from home to work, and back to home again. This is inherently done by men. Women are far far more likely to trip chain. Wtf is trip chaining? Home to school to drop the kids off, then to the chemist to pick up a prescription, over to grandma to deliver some food. then onto the office, a day at work, then off to school to collect the kids, to take them to hockey, then take them home. A focusing on return tickets makes this really expensive for those who trip chain. Trip chaining is mostly done by women.
This is why the Dutch OV chipkaart system is so good. 90c to check in, then 10c per km, as long as you check out of one vehicle and back into the next with in 35 mins you don't pay the 90c, so a first journey may be €1.20, then 0.15, then 0.29, etc... My record is keeping that going for well over 4 hours as I run errands around town.
The ticket system is much of the UK is an anachronistic pile of utter shite and needs a massive overhaul.
(My bold) What's one of those, then? There ain't none in Suffolk, as far as I can tell. There are (rapidly vanishing) council subsidies for the private bus companies, but there are no council-owned bus companies.
All of this needs a coordinated approach across a wide area - whether that's the devolved nations, county councils or whatever, and it needs to recognise the very different needs and solutions that apply in rural areas from those that apply in towns and cities. If a council is going to make it difficult for a company/school/hospital to retain on-site parking, it must develop alternatives that work for those who need to get to those places. It's not good enough to say 'sorry, climate' and make it impossible for those organisations to function. That's dictatorship, and will get the appropriate response from the communities affected.
Well there's your problem.
Stop trying to run public transport for profit and focus on public transport that is there to transport the public.
Roads don't need to make a profit. Neither should buses/trams/rail/ferries/cable cars.
J