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The bus company Strætó bs. will, from the first of the new year, raise fares from 280 ISK to 350 ISK for a single fare, and will also be cutting back service to certain times. Children will also see a fare increase.
The fare hike is rationalised, Vísir reports, by the fact that there has been no fare hike since January 2007, and that fares have not risen in proportion to inflation since the company was formed in 2001.
The company emphasises that the fare hikes will be measured in proportion to how frequently a passenger uses the bus. So someone who buys fare cards, for example, will see their prices increase by about 14%. However, those who buy single fares will see an increase of 25%.
Furthermore, children between the ages of 6 and 18 will also be facing a fare raise, albeit to a lesser degree.
“Children and young people between the ages of 6 and 12 will be able to buy 20-trip fare cards for 40 ISK per trip (a 6.7% increase),” a statement from the company reads in part, “and children ages 12 to 18 will pay 105 ISK for a trip (a 5% increase). Furthermore, the minimum age for reduced rates for seniors will be raised from 67 years to 70.”
Strætó bs. will also be reducing services on “times where the bus is seldom used”, although it is not specified which times, exactly, will be affected. There are generally fewer people taking the bus late at night, however, so services will be most likely cut there.
These changes are expected to take effect after the new year.
Bus service in the capital area has been notoriously lacking, as mass transit operates in a vicious circle of cutting services, resulting in fewer people using the bus, resulting in lowered revenues, and then services cut back more.