Bus users in St Albans and surrounding areas will see a number of innovations being launched this month under the Network St Albans banner. Network St Albans is a partnership between bus and rail operators and local organisations including St Albans City & District Council and Hertfordshire County Council.

On Sunday 15 January the St Albans BUSnet ticket was introduced. This is a new multi-operator bus ticket that allows unlimited travel on any bus, regardless of operator, throughout the Network St Albans area. Daily or weekly tickets can be bought on the first bus used, and is valid on any other bus service within the zone(s) purchased.

To support the launch of the ticket, Network St Albans has produced a handy pocket-sized guide to all bus services in the area, with helpful maps, and includes information on the St Albans BUSnet ticket fares and a map of the three travel zones. This guide is now available from the Civic Centre, tourist information centres and libraries in St Albans and surrounding towns.

To coincide with the launch of St Albans BUSnet ticket, Hertfordshire County Council is introducing a new style of timetable display which is customised to each bus stop, initially in St Albans but will be rolled out across the county over the forthcoming months under the county-wide Intalink brand. Unlike traditional timetables, the new displays list all of the departures from each stop, providing succinct and clear information and will significantly reduce the amount of timetables displayed at bus stops.

Another county-wide development which bus users will see introduced during the early part of 2012 is ‘real-time’ information displayed on the many departure screens across the county. This information will also be available on the Intalink website and on mobile phones using the Intalink phone App.

Stephen Joseph, Chair of Network St Albans and Chief Executive of Campaign for Better Transport said: “St Albans and the area around it has very high levels of car use and congestion: these initiatives are the first stage in giving people real and attractive alternatives for some car journeys. Further measures, including more frequent city bus services and cycle paths, are on their way and will help people and the city to move around more easily and at lower cost.”