A SIMPLIFIED fare structure introduced by the Stagecoach bus company in Teignbridge got off to a shaky start this week when some passengers were wrongly charged nearly double their normal fares.

Keith Shaw, of Kingsteignton, got more than he bargained for on Monday when he was charged £1.65 for his regular journey on the 85A from Longford Lane in Kingsteignton to Sherborne Road in Newton Abbot. He would normally have paid 85 pence.

'The driver told me that Stagecoach had taken out some fare stages,' said Mr Shaw. 'When I inquired about the return fare he said it would now be £2.50, rather than £1.25. Even he seemed embarrassed.'

Mr Shaw said that he had seen no advance warning of the changes, and that the woman in front of him had also paid the increased fare.

Mr Shaw subsequently complained to Stagecoach, only to be told that the driver had made a mistake and that he would be refunded.

'They confirmed that the number of fare stages has been reduced, but that the fare for my journey remained the same as it was before,' he said.

He wondered how many other people had been wrongly charged and what had happened to the money they had paid over.

Mark Whittle, marketing manager for Stagecoach Devon, admitted that the company had received a number of complaints from other passengers.

'We apologise to anyone who believes that they were overcharged and we are doing everything possible to recompense people,' he said. 'If I'd paid double I'd be straight onto the company.'

Mr Whittle said that the company had recently reduced the numbers of fare stages on 26 routes in Teignbridge and Torbay.

'It is most definitely not a fare increase by stealth,' he said. 'The new scheme was designed to make life simpler and easier for our drivers and passengers by taking out little-used stages. There are bound to be anomalies with any new system and Mr Shaw's case was a simple case of driver error,' he said.

He said that the exercise had been carried out in full consultation with staff and unions, and advertised to passengers by A4 posters on buses. A press release had also been issued, although this newspaper never received one.

Mr Whittle said that some passengers would end up paying a little more on some journeys, but nothing like double the old fare. He guaranteed that those prices that had risen would not rise again in a price review due next month.

He said that the company wanted to encourage bus travel and had introduced cheap day tickets and cheaper Explorer tickets for OAPs.

Anyone who has a complaint should contact Mr Whittle at Stagecoach Devon Ltd, Belgrave Road, Exeter EX1 2LB; tel 01392 439439.

Cllr Alan Connett, leader of the Lib-Dem group on Teignbridge Council, said: 'Stagecoach set up this problem for themselves by advertising it so poorly. If there is to be a price review in March why didn't they include these fare-stage changes in that?'