A READING man is hoping someone can beat his epic bus ride – he wants to know if someone can travel further than him using just three buses for a cost of just £6.
To celebrate the extension of the bus fare cap, which limits single fares to just £2, Stephen Goss travelled from the town to Royal Leamington Spa.
The 62-mile distance used just three buses.
He first took the X39, which goes from Station Road through Caversham, Cane End and Wallingford to get to Oxford. The journey took an hour and 20 minutes.
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After a walk around the city centre, he went to Banbury using a Stagecoach service which also took an hour and 20 minutes, and then on to Royal Leamington Spa, another Stagecoach service, which took an hour and 23 minutes.
Stephen beat his colleagues Jess, who travelled 60 miles from Ipswich to Cromer, and Sarah, who covered 39 miles from Axbridge in Somerset to Bridport Beach in Dorset.
Before the fare cap was introduced, the last leg of Stephen’s journey, a single fare from Banbury to Leamington Spa, used to cost £6.60; more than the cost of Stephen’s entire 62-mile trip.
The epic bus journeys are part of Campaign for Better Transport’s national competition to make more people aware of the £2 bus fare scheme which runs until the end of June.
The journey can have up to three ‘legs’, but no leg can cost more than £2. The winner will receive £150 in National Trust vouchers, enough for a year’s family membership granting you free entry to over 500 fabulous places including Basildon Park in Reading. The competition runs until the end of April.
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Stephen says: “Throughout the day I’ve heard first-hand about the day-to-day difference that the £2 bus fare cap is making to people’s lives.
“It’s such a great initiative, but not everyone knows about it.
“Hopefully my journey will raise awareness of the £2 fare and inspire more people to take the bus.”
For more information on the competition, visit www.bettertransport.org.uk
