Fares: a History

Part 1 of 2. See also the first in this series, Conductors: a History posted almost exactly two years ago.

Fares increases are very much on the minds of operators at the present, with diesel at something like 91p per litre plus VAT. But tell me when fares have ever been out of operators’ thoughts…

Actually, fares increases were pretty much unheard of up to the Second World War, even in more rural areas. A buoyant demand ensured that any increases in operating costs were more than matched by a faster rise in passenger numbers.

The tipping point in passengers travelling came in 1953. It was at this point that the motor car was taking hold. This was the year that customers first showed a decline. It was more pronounced in rural than urban areas and it was from this point that fares started to rise, albeit modestly at first.

It was only three years later that, in late 1956, the country experienced the problems of fuel supply associated with the Suez Crisis, something that lurched on into the spring of 1957. Up went fares. The traffic commissioners forced operators to make cuts in service. Although there was evidence of some switch from car back to bus, fewer services and over-crowding actually tended to accelerate the negative, downward spiral.

As if cementing the now established annual wage-related cost and consequent fares increases of the 1950s, bus crews called the first national bus strike in the summer of 1957—with both short- and long-term consequences for passenger numbers and industry costs.

The 1960s were no better. It was ironic in the passengers’ eyes that territorial operators should increase fares ahead of inflation to pay for the late-1960s mass conversion to one-person operation. This gave longer-term savings but there was generally a handsome driver bonus to pay as well as the capital cost of new vehicles or, where appropriate, conversions. It was often short distance fares that saw the highest percentage increases. Steady withdrawals in country mileage further reduced demand, fares increasing again to compensate...

To be continued...