Term ticket looks to promote public transport in the city by offering students a saving of almost £300
First Group is utilising its bus and rail network to launch an integrated travel ticket for students in York.
The newly created rail and bus season ticket has been launched in a partnership between First York and TransPennine Express (TPE) for students studying at the University of York.
The term-time ticket will allow students to travel on TPE rail services between Leeds and York and all First York bus services, including service 66, which provides a direct link to the University of York from the railway station.
The new partnership was launched to encourage more students to travel by public transport by introducing what the operator is calling a simpler and cheaper ticketing option. The integrated ticket will cost £480 for the summer term, which runs from April 15 to June 23, 2017. First said it will provide a 38% saving for students, equating to nearly £300, in comparison to the separate season ticket options offered by the rail and bus operators.
Marc Bichtemann, Managing Director at First York, said: “We’re pleased to be working in partnership with TransPennine Express to launch a new integrated term-time ticket for students.
“We hope that the new rail and bus ticket will encourage more students to consider using local transport as their preferred mode of travel to get in and around York.
“At First York, we’ve been working hard to provide a reliable and frequent bus service for University of York students and more recently we have launched the new 66a service in partnership with the university. Together with the existing service 66 we are now running more buses between York city centre and the University, particularly during peak times, helping to keep students moving around the city.”
James Cohen, Head of Revenue Management for TransPennine Express, added: “Together with First York, we’re thrilled to have created this new integrated ticket providing excellent value for money for students travelling between Leeds and York.
“As a business, we’ve made a commitment to take the North further which includes supporting young people and the next generation of talent from across our communities.
“We’re delivering an investment of £500m over the next three years and customers across the North will soon be travelling on newly refurbished trains featuring free WiFi as well as an on-board entertainment system.
“We are also introducing brand new trains, the first of which will enter into service from summer 2018.”
Alex Lusty, York University Student Union Activities Officer for 2016/17, said: “We’re very excited that students will have the opportunity to travel further for less.
“With so many people travelling to York via train, it’s great to see all parties pushing for a more integrated travel network.”
