Students from Robert Gordon University (RGU) took on staff at First Aberdeen in a unique challenge to promote the bus company’s new student carnet ticket and its brand new x10 service which operates between Kingswells Park and Ride and the RGU Garthdee campus.
Eight students were invited to pull one of First Aberdeen’s (almost 18 tonne) bendy buses 50m at the company’s King Street headquarters. They responded to a challenge from a First Aberdeen team, including the company’s Director and General Manager, Duncan Cameron. The First Aberdeen team using brute strength successfully pulled the bus 50m in 43 seconds. The students found it a tough challenge taking more than 2 minutes.
The unique challenge was organised to promote improvements to First’s student fares and the launch of a brand new service – the X10. Operating at peak times Monday-Friday between Kingswells Park and Ride and the Garthdee campus, the X10 is aimed at students and staff and is funded by RGU.
The student carnet ticket allows students to travel ten journeys at a discounted price of £15 and is specifically designed for those students that use the bus on average two or three times a week.
First Aberdeen has also introduced a promotion which will provide a £50 discount (nearly 15%) on its ‘Academic Term ticket’ to coincide with the start of term. This will mean students can purchase the ticket for £300 and enjoy unlimited travel across the network for under £1 a day. And recognising that many students may find it difficult to pay the academic fare up front, First Aberdeen has introduced a payment option, meaning students can spread the cost of the ticket over three terms.
And in more good news for students and university staff using First Aberdeen’s bus services, as of September 15 the company significantly increased the number of buses serving Routes 1 and 2, both of which stop at the main campuses at the University of Aberdeen on King Street and the expanded RGU at Garthdee.
Talking about the improvements for students, Director and General Manager of First Aberdeen, Duncan Cameron, said: “We’ve considered how best we can add value to our student tickets and I’m delighted that we are able to put in place what we consider to be a very attractive proposition.
“All our student products offer terrific value and the introduction of our carnet ticket and the discount to the academic ticket strengthens our commitment to our student customers. Indeed our range of student fares provides the most generous discount of almost any bus operator in the UK.”
“I’m pleased too that our strong partnership with RGU has resulted in a dedicated service which will link the RGU Garthdee campus with the west of the city.”
Steven Mills, Student President of Robert Gordon University, was team captain of the RGU Bus Pull team and welcomed First Aberdeen’s commitment to students: “The Bus Pull was a fun way to kick off the academic year. I’m pleased that First Aberdeen is addressing the needs of students attending Aberdeen’s universities. The introduction of the carnet ticket, the discount to the academic ticket including the option of spreading payment, combined with the improvements to Services 1 and 2 and the introduction of Service X10 all represent good news for students. We’re looking forward to continuing our discussions with First Aberdeen as we work in partnership to make bus travel more attractive for students.”
Judith Logan, Transport Manager, at RGU said she hoped that the new X10 service would prove popular with students and university staff: “We’ve worked closely with First Aberdeen to put in place a service specifically targeting those travelling from the West of the city. A direct service from Kingswells will, I hope, encourage more students and staff to rely less on the car, particularly with parking at a premium at the Garthdee campus, and use the bus more often.”
Student Fares
• FirstDay Student - £3.50
• FirstWeek Student - £16 – unlimited travel for £2.29 per day
• First4Week Student - £50 - unlimited travel for £1.79 per day
• First12Week Student - £135 - unlimited travel for £1.61 per day
• Student Carnet – £15 – provides students with ten journeys (£1.50 per journey)
• StudentAcademic Term – (Sep-Jun) - £300 (usual price for £350) - unlimited travel for £0.99 per day. Note the £300 discounted price is available during September only. Note too that if spreading payments the discounted price is not applicable.