A COUNCILLOR has slammed First Manchester's decision to increase fares in the New Year.

Cllr Noel Bayley described the move as a 'kick in the teeth' for passengers, and claimed it does nothing to encourage public transport usage or ease congestion.

It comes after First announced that most single passes, daily, weekly and monthly tickets, and season tickets will increase in price as of January 2.

The company says the decision to raise fares is based on 'rising business costs'.

Amid the changes, the company says it has frozen fares for some tickets on its mTickets app.

Cllr Bayley, who is Bury Council's representative on the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) committee, said: "Formerly publicly-owned companies hiking up their prices each year in what are often captive markets is now a modern fact of life, alongside death and taxes.

"In April I tabled a motion which demanded a public apology from First for such poor service across the Bury area, put them on notice to improve and declared that they were not fit for purpose. The motion was passed unanimously.

"Not only have First not improved on their third-rate offering or publicly apologised for their poor services locally, but they have increased many of their popular fares - such as day, weekly and monthly savers - when a freeze would surely have been the least their long-suffering passengers deserve?

"At an uncertain time for so many people, when wages have stagnated and the economy is struggling, simply pushing fares up is another kick in the teeth for First's passengers and does nothing to encourage public transport usage or ease serious congestion issues."

As of January 2, single-journey tickets will cost commuters more money, with those costing £3.40 rising by 10p, and those costing £4.20 rising to £4.40.

FirstWeek mTickets and bus tickets will also both increase by £1, while FirstMonth mTicket will go up £4.

In September, First Manchester introduced ticket machines, enabling customers to pay for their bus tickets in new ways, including via contactless.

Ian Humphreys, Managing Director at First Manchester, said: “These changes are essential to allow us to continue to operate the highest level of service possible for our customers.

"We have worked hard to keep any increases to a minimum and continue to offer customers the best value fares via our mTickets App.

"Our focus on encouraging more customers to purchase mTickets will continue, as this helps improve journey times and punctuality, which are all factors that we know are vital to customers.”

For a full list of the change, visit www.firstgroup.com/manchester.