Andy Burnham to KEEP £2 bus fare cap despite rise across England

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Andy Burnham WILL KEEP the £2 bus fare cap in Greater Manchester despite it rising to £3 in the rest of the country. The mayor confirmed the move on Tuesday (October 29), a day after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the new bus fare cap would rise by 50 percent to £3.

The new cap comes in for the start next year, as the previous Conservative government only implemented the £2 cap until the end of 2024. "I do know how much this matters, particularly in rural communities where there’s heavy reliance on buses," the PM said on Monday (October 28). "That’s why I’m able to say to you this morning that in the Budget we will announce there will be a £3 cap on bus fares to the end of 2025 because I know how important it is." READ MORE:  Police officer who took his own life was 'distressed' about returning to work after two-week break, coroner rules Cut-price bus journeys were first introduced in Greater Manchester in August 2022, with the rest of the country following suit later that year thanks to a government subsidy.

But the government’s £3 cap led to speculation on if Greater Manchester journeys would also get more expensive. However, Mr Burnham has ruled out a rise in adult single bus fares for at least another 12 months.

In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, he said: "Greater Manchester is on course to complete the re-regulation of buses on time and on budget early in the New Year, becoming the first city-region outside London to put them fully back under public control after four decades of deregulation. "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.