Runcorn & Widnes Weekly News

Cheaper tickets and more buses

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NEW YORK £1,095 FITTED WITH 4.2 KW GASFIRE STOVE PACKAGES FROM £1,895 FULLY FITTED 900 SUITE, SUITABLE FOR PRECAST FLUES - £1,600 + FITTED FREE pool or Warrington has been reduced from £18 to £15, and day tickets are being reduced by £1.10. There is no change to the £4 Halton day ticket.

An Arriva spokesman said that for passengers travelling within Halton, there will also be a £1 weekly saving and all tickets are available to buy on buses, and via the company’s M-Ticket app.

The firm said it cut its weekly ticket costs in Merseyside in March to encourage more bus travel during the summer, NEW MARBLE ELECTRIC SUITE FITTED FREE Choice of 4 full marble fireplaces ONLY £799 FULLY FITTED MANAGERS SPECIAL Marble Fireplace and Gas Fire, includes remote control Was £1,699 ONLY £1,299 ● and that the scheme’s success has led to it being rolled out to more areas.

Lisa Pearson, Arriva’s head of marketi ing, said: “Following the success of the r reduced weekly ticket prices in Merseyside, we wanted to give more people in the North West the opportunit­y to travel b by bus for less.

“We’re keen to make bus the first t transport of choice in a bid to help r reduce congestion and air pollution in our towns and cities, and we hope the reduced weekly fare will help more people do this.”

Councillor­s have had some contact from residents over the X1 timetable changes. Cllr Ellen Cargill, Labour, Halton Castle ward, said a concerned Halton Village resident had been in touch and councillor­s met with Arriva, which said the busway slows the service down.

She said: “We organised a meeting with Arriva, they went away to reconsider the changes, they came back to a second meeting with a slight moderation of times. They claim the busway slows the service down, plus there is further mileage to the new bridge – this causes the service to be late across the route.

“They also said that when the old bridge opens and they are back to normal they will reconsider.”

Cllr Harry Howard, Labour, Halton Castle ward, said councillor­s have challenged the upcoming changes but ‘were largely unsuccessf­ul’, although winning a concession for the X1 to include Murdishaw and Windmill Hill in Runcorn.

He said: “We were contacted by residents from our ward who were concerned about getting to work and were able to reassure them that the change would only take place during off peak.

“As you will see on the timetables, the first five X1 journeys in the morning will call at Castlefiel­ds, with the last being at 7.30am. There will also be five journeys in the evening calling at Castlefiel­ds, also indicated on the timetables.

“Of course, some people start and finish work at times other than the traditiona­l rush hours and they may be inconvenie­nced by this change.

“Neverthele­ss, we haven’t had any complaints from anybody else.

“We councillor­s and Halton Borough Council officers met with the Arriva management to challenge all the proposed changes, but were largely unsuccessf­ul.

“They did agree to change the proposal in that the X1 service will continue to start from Murdishaw/Windmill Hill, but that doesn’t help Castlefiel­ds residents. There were no promises, but they did indicate that when the Silver Jubilee Bridge re-opens, they will review the position and believe that it might be possible to reinstate that all X1 services travel through Castlefiel­ds.”

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 ??  ?? Cllr Ellen Cargill
Cllr Ellen Cargill

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