Hereford bus fare announcement as firm feels cost pressure

As fuel prices remain high, with the national average of diesel still 195p according to the RAC, bus firms have been left "feeling the pressure", Sargeant Brothers said.

While the price of fuel is slowly starting to fall, inflation remains one of the big concerns of the public.

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Public concern about inflation has reached its highest level for 40 years as prices continue to climb, a survey suggests.

A Sargeants Brothers bus pulls over at Kings Acre Hillary Drive bus stop. Picture: Rob Davies

A poll by Ipsos found 45 per cent of British adults thought inflation was one of the most important issues facing the country.

Concern about rising prices tracks inflation itself, which reached a 40-year high of 9.4 per cent per cent in June, while economists fear it could end up exceeding 10 per cent.

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But Sargeant Brothers, the Kington-based bus company which took over some city centre bus routes from Yeomans Travel, said it was freezing all its fares for 12 months.

The price freeze is across all services, including Sargeants' school and student passes.

A spokesperson said: "Like many businesses we are feeling the pressure particularly with fuel costs, but we feel that we need to try do something to help our valued customers within the community we serve with the ‘cost-of-living challenges’ that we are all currently facing."