Prime Minister Keir Starmer has revealed today that the bus fare cap scheme will be extended through to the end of 2025, however from 1st January 2025, the single fare cap increases to £3, up from £2 at present until the end of December. This will be formally announced in the Budget speech on Wednesday.
The single bus fare cap in England will be raised to £3 in the upcoming Budget, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced.
It is an increase on the current limit of £2 which was introduced under the previous Conservative government to help with the cost of living.
The existing cap was due to expire at the end of December.
Sir Keir said: “I do know how much this matters, particularly in rural communities where there is heavy reliance on buses.”
The new £3 cap, covering most bus journeys in England, will run until the end of 2025.
About 3.4 million people in England use buses. There had been speculation in recent days that the chancellor would announce in the Budget on Wednesday that the current cap would be scrapped.
This would have meant that some passengers faced a steep hike in fares following two years of help.
Single bus fares in London with Transport for London will, however, remain at £1.75 and those in Greater Manchester at £2.
They are excluded from the broader fare cap as their funding is structured differently.
The Confederation of Passenger Transport said that raising the cap from £2 has avoided travellers facing a “cliff edge” at the end of this year.
But it said: “An increase to £3 will still present challenges for many passengers, particularly those who rely on buses as their primary means of affordable travel.”
“Bus fares to rise to £3 in England under new cap” – BBC News, 28th October 2024
What does this mean for bus users in the West Midlands?
At the end of June 2024, in line with other nBus ticket price increases, TfWM increased the maximum single fare to £2.90.
So unless there are any further price changes, from Wednesday 1st January 2025, the price of a single fare will increase to £2.90.
As the government-set cap will be £3.00, it will no longer apply here.
Passengers who make more than one journey in a day will find they’re better off buying a day ticket, and anyone who travels regularly by bus should seriously consider buying weekly or monthly tickets instead.
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