00:00Tramfares are rising across the West Midlands as many people already feel pressured by higher
00:08living costs. From the new year, single tickets go by as much as 50p and season passes rise
00:14by around 10%, after regional leaders backed an above inflation increase to steady the
00:20metro's finances. A short zone one-trip moves from £2.30 to £2.50. A weekly pass climbs
00:28from just over £12 to more than £13. A monthly ticket across zones one and two heads towards
00:35£62. Concessionary users stay protected but most paying adults will feel the change.
00:42The combined authority says tramfares have lagged behind buses and trains and that without this
00:47rise the metro would depend even more on subsidy. The network has grown and more lines are planned
00:53but those projects run into hundreds of millions and still rely on public cash. For those who
01:00rely on the tram, the rise is not abstract, it's a weekly cost for a service that, while expanding,
01:06has faced lung suspensions and mixed reliability. For many the tram isn't a luxury, it's the
01:12only route that gets them to work on time. The authorities' papers describe metro demand
01:17as relatively fixed, assuming people will stay, even as prices rise. If that call is wrong,
01:23the system risks a cycle of falling numbers, higher subsidy and fresh pressure for further
01:28increases. At its core this is about who carries the cost of a growing tram network, the wider
01:34transport budget that also supports buses or the people tapping in each day who already
01:40feel every rise in their travel bill.
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