Teenagers using the new Tiger pass young person’s discount card were surprised to be told by bus drivers that their journeys were not eligible, even though they were getting on the bus in Cambridgeshire.
The Tiger pass allows anyone under 25 to pay just £1 for a bus journey within Cambridgeshire and is subsidised by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, which has now intervened to solve the issue.
In April, the Combined Authority mayor, Labour’s Nik Johnson, trebled his mayoral precept on the council tax bill - up from £12 to £36 for Band D taxpayers - to fund bus improvements, including the Tiger pass.
But bus drivers initially told youngsters their journey was not eligible for the cut-price fee because the bus route started in Newmarket, which falls partly in Suffolk, even though the young people were getting on the bus in East Cambridgeshire villages.
However, they were advised they could use the cards for the return journey from Cambridge.
Several took to social media to describe the incidents. One parent in Bottisham said: “Has anyone used the new Tiger bus pass for the under 25s yet on the Stephenson’s buses?
“My son was told it’s not valid into Cambridge because the bus comes from Newmarket, it’s only valid on the way back!”
And another in Burwell said: “My kid just used their new Tiger card, and the bus driver said it wasn’t valid travelling from Suffolk to Cambridge, you can only use it travelling in Cambridgeshire … Burwell to Cambridge is Cambridgeshire so it makes no sense.”
The cases were reported by travel campaigners the AtoB1102 group to the Combined Authority, which issues the passes.
After an investigation, the authority contacted the bus companies to ensure the passes are now accepted and have blamed the refusal from drivers on the quick roll-out of the scheme.
A Combined Authority spokesperson said: ““The Tiger pass can be used to travel on the bus anywhere within the Combined Authority region, including services going out of the area as long as they start within the region. All journeys made on the Number 11 route that start within Cambridgeshire are eligible.
“The £1 single fare does not apply to bus services starting or running from outside the region to within. The Tiger pass is a new scheme which has been implemented at pace.
“Due to the swift implementation of the Tiger pass a small number of incidents have occurred where the scheme has been misunderstood by individual drivers.”
The Combined Authority is working with operators to rectify any issues that arise during the roll-out of this new initiative.”
