As it's coming to the end of the year, it's time again for the end of the year polls, this particular will concern the two major operators in the town who compete against each other Ipswich Buses and First Ipswich, First have had a year of stability in Ipswich with some gains and some losses, whilst Ipswich Buses have appointed a new MD, had three new Mercedes Benz Citario's, and 3 Darts and 3 Tridents from Lothian as well as numerous route numbering and timetable changes. This year in the bus industry has seen companies suffer from a shortage of drivers something which is set to continue, oil prices have dropped meaning less passengers using the bus, and many established companies folding during the course of the year, mostly due to concessionary passes and a lack of funding to blame. As mentioned on Thursday IB have on order 3 E300's for next year, while with First it will be concentration on the Norwich fleet with Ipswich unlikely to receive anything new during the year, a lot of rumors still seem to persist with the future of the depot which has been denied by management, but who knows. Both companies have wagered war on the cost of fares, with First in the summer announcing £1 single fares and £2 returns, Ipswich Buses responded with an £3.50 day ticket and reduced their fares to the same as First on selected routes, so who has had the most impact this i'm going to leave it up to you to decide.
One of three Mercedes Benz Citaro's added to the fleet of Ipswich Buses this year was 155 BF65 HVV.
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