Already cash-strapped Cape Town commuters are now told to brace themselves as Golden Arrow Bus Service (GABS) announces its fare increase from September 18.
The bus service said it will be increasing fares by an average of 2.7 percent.
GABS General Manager, Derrick Meyer said the company remained cognisant of the impact fare increases have on its passengers and, therefore, it only implements increases when all cost-saving options have been exhausted and absorbing all operational cost increases is no longer possible.
“Unfortunately, rising operational input costs, such as fuel, and a legacy of implementing fare increases that are much lower than industry inflation has placed significant strain on the company’s ability to provide the level of services that our passengers expect and deserve,” Meyer said.
“In addition, contractual rates paid by the Government have also decreased in real terms. As such, we will be implementing an average fare increase of 2.7 percent on September 18, 2023. The pricing of pensioner’s products will not increase,” he said.
GABS said that to make the most out of its product offering and access to greater savings, it would urge its passengers to purchase its Gold Card and load weekly or monthly trips instead of paying cash.
Weekly and monthly trips are sold at a discount of up to 45% and the price of a Gold Card remains at R35 once-off.
“Golden Arrow remains committed to providing safe and reliable transport for our passengers and providing a secure future for our employees,” Meyer said.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL