GO GEORGE announced three different ticket prices with their annual ticket increase on 1 February 2017. The reasoning behind this decision now seems to bear fruit with an increase in passengers buying their tickets before they board a bus.
Apart from the multi-journey ticket which is valid for 10 trips and costs R85, two different single trip tickets were implemented. This was to encourage passengers to rather buy a R9 ticket at a ticket vendor, than pay R10 for a ticket when they buy it from the driver on the bus.
Sales figures of the first full month after the increase indicate a decrease of 7 percent in ticket sales on the bus in February, compared to January.
“We trust that off-bus sales will grow every month. It is important for us to lure passengers to ticket vendors, so that ticket sales on the bus may be minimised and eventually phased out,” says James Robb, GO GEORGE Manager. “Ticket sales on the bus slows down the boarding process and makes it difficult to keep to the schedule.”
To give as many passengers as possible access to off-bus ticket sales, the registered ticket vendors is continuously being expanded, with 38 vendors currently operating all over the community. Several mobile vendors service some bus stops during peak times. Passengers should keep in mind that they can also buy bus tickets at the George Municipality when they come in to pay municipal bills.
The complete list of ticket vendors is available on the Fares & tickets page, but passengers are also welcome to call the GO GEORGE Call Centre on 0800 044 044 to enquire about the closest vendor to their homes or place of work.
