BUS fares have rocketed as transport chiefs have scrapped return tickets and introduced a flat rate fare for all routes in Wyre Forest.

Passengers can no longer buy a ticket according to how far they travel but will have to pay a fixed single rate of £1.20, with children charged 80p.

The move meant nine-year-old Benjamin Jones, of Wolverley, saw his fee rise 68 per cent when he went back to school after the half-term holiday.

His mum, Kathryn, said his return fare used to be 95p but was now 80p for a single journey.

"Luckily, he had some tuck money on him and so was able to pay for his fare home. I don't know what would have happened otherwise.

"To charge that much to get to and from a place of education is disgusting."

Bus operator First's spokesman, David Maciejewski, said he understood some passengers would be frustrated by the hike but added a £2.20 ticket which gave a day's worth of unlimited district travel was a cost saving option.

He explained a weekly travel ticket was available for £7 - an increase from £6 - along with a £30 monthly ticket.

He said: "The idea of a full fare scheme is that we can get people quickly boarded on to the buses with a single price. Most people do like these schemes when they get used to them."

The same ticket could now be used by more than one person, he added.

The news came as further changes were made to district services, as First moved to make savings as passenger numbers fell.

The changes include:

- Making the number 1 service hourly instead of every 30 minutes.

- Making the 2/2A and 2B services all run from Spennells via Offmore every 20 minutes. Extra buses will leave Kidderminster to go to Spennells at 5.55pm and 6.15pm.

- Changing the 5/6 service to two separate services. The 5 will remain an hourly service but will operate at a reduced frequency from Monday to Friday. The new 7/7A will run once an hour from Kidderminster to Sion Hill instead of twice an hour. The service via Hurcott Road will be largely withdrawn.

- The 8/8A will run every hour instead of half an hour between Kidderminster and Ferndale.