Stagecoach confirms new fares for passengers in East Midlands including Grantham to Lincoln service

A bus service has confirmed a rise in fares from next month, as maintenance costs increase.

Stagecoach East Midlands, which runs the Grantham to Lincoln Number 1 route, has confirmed changes to bus fares from Monday April 10.

Since 2019-20, Stagecoach has seen a 29 per cent increase in maintenance costs, with the price of tyres increasing by 18 per cent.

Over the same period, utility costs have shot up by more than 40 per cent, including an increase of 16 per cent in the last year alone.

Stagecoach said that it has also agreed significant pay increases for its employees across the country, reflecting the cost-of-living challenges being faced by consumers.

Under the government's £2 single fare scheme, fares for the Grantham to Lincoln route are capped at £4 return and £2 for single tickets until June 30.

After this, adult singles will cost £5.20 and a return will be £8.50. Before the cap was introduced, adult singles were £4.50 and return tickets cost £7.80, meaning a rise of 70p in both cases.

Dave Skepper, interim managing director for Stagecoach East Midlands, said: “Stagecoach has consistently delivered some of the lowest ticket prices in the country and we are committed to continuing to keep fares as low as possible for our passengers”.

For more information on fares and ticketing visit stagecoachbus.com/emidfares.

The money from fares goes towards paying for the day-to-day running of services as well as investing in the bus fleet, new technology and other customer improvements.

It also covers additional costs including paying government taxes which support public services.

Stagecoach said that it has "worked hard to absorb cost increases to keep fares low especially for regular bus users".