Cost of DART-ing to Luton Airport revealed

And for holders of a concessionary bus pass, such as pensioners, people with a disability or acting as companion traveller the service will be free, according to the borough council's airport company on social media.

Travelling to and from London Luton Airport from Luton Airport Parkway railway station will leave 20p change from £10 for everyone else.

Luton Rising, the trading name of London Luton Airport Limited, confirmed earlier this month the opening of the Luton DART has been put back from this year to next.

The local authority's airport company said in a Facebook message response: "We can confirm that the fare is going to cost £4.90 per way.

"We understand there'll be mixed opinions on the price, but the fare is based on independent assessment and sound rationale.

"It reflects the value of time saved, and the convenience and quality of what we're providing compared to what went before.

"However, we're happy to say that residents of Luton can apply in advance for half-price tickets.

"The DART will be free to all passengers holding a concessionary bus pass, such as pensioners, people with a disability or acting as companion traveller."

In a separate comment to its delayed opening announcement, Luton Rising said the DART project "budget is £281m which is on public record".

It added: "Against earlier budgets this takes into account the addition of operational set up costs, which was always anticipated."

The expenditure was expected to be around £200m before an early forecast of £225m, which had risen to £261.7m at the end of March.

Only about £77m will be recovered, it was revealed in Luton Rising accounts for 2020/21, leaving a deficit known as an impairment of around £184m.

The Luton DART is "one of the biggest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the town, creating 500 construction jobs and training hundreds of local people", explained Luton Rising chief executive Graham Olver on Facebook.

“The Luton DART is a vital investment that signals our commitment to the ongoing success of the airport for the benefit of our passengers, airlines and the people of Luton.

"There remain several important tasks we're working to complete with our partners, which relate mostly to complexities and alignment of the system’s revenue and ticketing arrangements.

"We'd hoped for an announcement in 2022. We're eager to open the Luton DART and will do so as soon as we are assured that passengers will get the world-class service they deserve."

Responses to the airport company's post were mixed, varying from: "Really looking forward to the opening as such an easy journey to the terminal" to "a complete waste of money … utterly ridiculous".

Comparisons were drawn with other airports as one response noted: "Hold on, the public will have to pay to use the DART? Had assumed it would be free like the one at Gatwick!"

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