At short notice at the end of July, Arriva and First stopped accepting each other’s day tickets for travel within Colchester.
Customers now wanting to travel with both operators must buy a Colchester Boroughcard ticket, which is 50p dearer than the £4 charged by either operator. However, it also gives travel on other operators, including Go- Ahead Group-owned Hedingham.
A technical problem meant that Arriva could not initially issue a Boroughcard ticket, and customers were advised by Twitter that they would have to purchase them on a First bus or by using First’s app. Arriva’s own mobile version was made available on the third day after the change, and on-bus issues were expected to follow later the same week.