A Coach Services bus arrives at RAF Mildenhall with the newest batch of airmen serving in the United Kingdom. (By Bryan Mitchell / S&S)
A Coach Services bus arrives at RAF Mildenhall with the newest batch of airmen serving in the United Kingdom. (By Bryan Mitchell / S&S)
Coach Services driver Phil Roos. (By Bryan Mitchell / S&S)
Passengers of the Coach Services bus arrive at RAF Mildenhall. (By Bryan Mitchell / S&S)
RAF MILDENHALL — The Beatles sang that you needed a ticket to ride. Now airmen are going to have to cough up 60 pounds ($120) for a ride — to London airports, that is.
But the money will be reimbursed as part of a plan that will save the Air Force about $250,000 a year. The new system went into effect on March 1.
Airmen will have to include the payment on their reimbursement form as part of their official travel orders, according to Master Sgt. Charles Tubbs, an RAF Mildenhall spokesman.
“Airmen are used to filling out reimbursement forms, and this will just be one more thing they get reimbursed for. It should not be a huge deal to airmen that are used to the process,” Tubbs said.
The new system was prompted by a Department of Defense mandate, according to information provided by the 48th Fighter Wing. Previously, travelers on orders showed them to the driver and the military was billed 60 pounds for each rider. A processing fee was tacked on that cost the Air Force a quarter million dollars a year.
Military officials said airmen should bill the cost to their government credit card to avoid out-of-pocket charges. Airmen and civilians on leave travel on the buses on a space-available status and won’t have to pay the new fee, according to an Air Force press release.
A driver from Coach Services, the British transport firm that provides the bus services, said a significant number of passengers take advantage of the space-available option.
“We had 30 people on a bus recently and only four or five were on orders,” Phil Roos said.
News of the payment system was recently distributed by the Air Force public affairs office following rumors among airmen and civilians that the free bus to Heathrow and Gatwick airports in London were being canceled altogether.
The bus transportation system is managed by the Traffic Management Flight of the 48th Logistics Readiness Squadron at RAF Lakenheath.
For many, if not most, airmen, the buses are their first introduction to driving on the left side of the road when they travel from the airport to either RAFs Mildenhall or Lakenheath upon arrival in the United Kingdom. The buses are also vital transportation for travelers on temporary-duty status.
The notice distributed by the Air Force reminded airmen to don civilian clothes when traveling to and from the airports.
