2 weeks Ago
The bus fare cap for Greater Manchester residents will remain at £2 until the end of 2025, regional mayor Andy Burnham has confirmed. This comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced yesterday (October 28) that the cap will be increasing from £2 to £3 in the wake of the upcoming budget. Running until the end of 2025, the increased cap will still mean savings of up to 80 per cent on some routes.
Mr Burnham said: “On January 5, 2025, we will proceed with our plan to introduce a new simpler, flatter fare structure based around a £2 single fare and, on March 23 2025, a contactless London-style payment system with a daily and weekly cap setting a maximum for what people pay when travelling on our buses and trams." He added: "Our policy aim throughout has been to create a low-fare, high-patronage system similar to the one that has brought higher growth and productivity to London. "This will remain the mission of the Bee Network.
" However, Mr Burnham did add the freezing of the £2 bus fare cap is subject to a mid-year 2025 review “We hope that the measures we are taking will continue the increase in patronage we have seen since the introduction of the original £2 cap in September 2022 and the launch of the Bee Network in September 2023. The more that people use the system, the easier it will be for us to sustain the low-fare structure. “This said, it is only by the middle of 2025 when we have completed Phase 1 of the Bee Network, and we know the level of government funding we have, that we will be in a position to judge the financial outlook for the new system.
" Outside of Greater Manchester, under the inherited plans, funding for the current cap on bus fares had been due to expire at the end of 2024, with fares set to soar by as much as £13 for the Leeds to Scarborough route, unless the government intervened to keep fares down. Transport secretary Louise Haigh said: "Buses are the engines of economic opportunity across the country. "We know that reliable, affordable bus services are vital to keeping Britain moving.
That’s why the government will cap fares at £3 for an additional year and provide over £1 billion to deliver better bus services. "This will avoid a cliff-edge at the end of this year and keep fares affordable across the country – improving access to opportunities, particularly in towns and rural areas, while offering value for the taxpayer. "Our bus revolution will give every community the power to take back control of their services, end the postcode lottery of services and turn the page on four decades of failed deregulation.
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