There was a significant increase in fares in the 2000s however since 2008-10ish Day/Week/Month Tickets haven't actually changed that much. It's more the single fares that have went up. Unless government subsidies improve i would expect a pretty sharp increase in the next year or two however, especially with the rising costs of electricity and oils.
The "our bus service is the most expensive and poorest" in the country mindset applies pretty much in every area of the country. Politicians seem to think brining buses back in to state control or franchising will fix things but in reality it won't. The main issue faced by local bus services is not really how the operators operate but more external factors such as rising running costs, rising cost of living, decline in peak time commuters, the boom in online shopping and subsequent decline in off-peak shoppers etc. It's the same reason companies like Argos and John Lewis are struggling, who's going to trail all the way to a retail park when you can get more variety online with next day delivery. But alas that's a topic for another thread and i suspect i've ranted too far already!