20.02.2023

Bus £2 fare cap extended for three months

Access to services News Rural Transport isolation Rural Vulnerability cost of living

The BBC report the £2 cap on bus fares in England has been extended for three months following warnings that hundreds of services could be cut if it ended.

The cap applies to more than 130 bus operators outside London.

It had been due to expire on 31 March, but has been extended until the end of June.

Bus operators have been struggling to maintain service levels in the face of rising costs and passenger numbers not recovering to pre-pandemic levels.

The cap was introduced partly as a cost of living measure but is also meant to encourage people back on to buses.

"Getting more people onto reliable and affordable buses will strengthen communities and help grow the economy," said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Up to 15% of services could have been scrapped without further funding, the Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents bus and coach firms, said earlier this month.

The Campaign for Better Transport welcomed the announcement, saying the government should market the scheme so as to attract new people on to buses.

"However, another extension only gets us so far. We are urging government to implement long-term funding reform to avoid more uncertainty and give everyone access to affordable and reliable bus services," said Paul Tuohy from the campaign.

Full article:

The BBC - Bus £2 fare cap extended for three months

RSN Comment:

Whilst the £2 may be welcomed by bus users, for those living in rural areas without regular bus routes, it does nothing to help them in the cost of living crisis.

Recent research commissioned by the Rural Services Network into the cost of living crisis in rural areas, found that transport has the largest disparity between household expenditure in rural and urban areas. Due to a lack of public transport, rural households take more trips, and travel greater distances by car / van.

Rural households are hit by the triple whammy of lower than average wages earned in rural areas, higher transport costs and higher energy costs in often harder to heat homes. Initiatives from the Government such as this to reduce transport costs for people and removing cars from the road, will not help those in rural areas unable to access rural public transport.