The bus fare cap in England will revert to £2 from January, new prime minister Andy Burnham has announced.
The government says the policy, which is expected to cost more than £500m, will “help with the cost of living and give people the breathing space they need”.
In January 2025, the England-wide bus fare cap rose to £3 under Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government, although Liverpool and Manchester are examples of city regions where fares have been held at £2.
Burnham said affordable transport links were an essential, adding: “Lower fares will help people get to where they need to.”
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander told the BBC’s Today programme the measure gives people “a little bit of hope” in a time when many are grappling with higher living costs – especially after fuel costs spiked as a result of the US-Iran war.
However, she admitted the measure was “not the whole solution”.
The new cap will take effect from 1 January 2027 for fares on participating buses outside of London.
The Burnham government said going back to a £2 cap should particularly help passengers in rural and coastal areas, where single fares can be higher.
Public services in Northern Ireland will also get a small amount of additional money, though ministers will not be obliged to spend the money on public transport. The exact amount will not be known until the autumn budget.
Earlier this month Translink, Northern Ireland’s public transport company, said it would have to make cuts to services due to budget pressures.
While a lower fare cap is welcome, the Campaign for Better Transport said rural areas were still suffering from fewer bus routes and services, adding that such areas had been more affected by council cut backs in the last decade than urban zones.
The County Councils Network, which represents 39 unitary and county councils across England, said that bus services in those areas – as measured by vehicle miles – decreased by 18% between 2019 and 2024, which it said was the biggest decline in England.
The Campaign for Better Transport’s Michael Solomon Williams said: “What we need to see is the replacing of those lost services which have particularly affected those in rural areas”.
He added that coastal areas such as Kent, Blackpool and Northumberland were also at risk of becoming transport deserts. Williams added that many coastal areas are also deprived, increasing the need for better transport to boost access to employment and health services.
The Scottish government, which piloted a £2 bus fare cap across the Highlands and Islands for a year, said it was looking at bringing forward legislation for a £2 bus fare cap across the whole of Scotland by the end of this parliament.
