Told to buy online
Parents are being urged to buy Rutherglen and Cambuslang bus tickets for their children online after First Glasgow hiked prices for youngsters by 40 per cent.
The transport giant confirmed last week that fares for under 16s will soar, while unaccompanied child concession tickets have been axed altogether.
But First Glasgow says families who purchase tickets online can avoid the extra costs.
It says ticket prices have been frozen and in some cases reduced on its mTickets app, where multiple, child and family tickets can be purchased in advance.
Under the new system, a child mTicket day fare is £1.50, whilst an on-bus child day ticket is £2. Week-long tickets for the city and local network will be £8.50 when purchased on the bus, but reduced to £7.50 when bought online.
First Glasgow says the changes are necessary to encourage speedier boarding and faster journey times.
It says recent research shows boarding times would be 75 per cent faster if customers switched from cash to mTickets.
Graeme Macfarlan, commercial director for First Glasgow said:“The change to a number of fares on January 7 incorporated a range of price freezes, price reductions and some price increases.
“As part of a number of initiatives to speed up journeys we have heavily incentivised the purchase of tickets on our mTicket app.
“Like many organisations, we recognise the importance of being mobile as part of everyday modern life. We are therefore urging our customers to switch to mobile ticketing.
“I acknowledge that some single tickets for children have increased from 70p to a £1, however, these have previously been held for a number of years.”