The Government has published an update on the bus fare cap and the impact of ‘lower bus fares’. There is currently a £3 cap on single journeys in England on some routes from providers who take part in the scheme in England. Next year the rules will change.
From the start of 2027, the cap on bus fares will be reduced to £2, as Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced in his first week in office, back in July 2026. With the £1 cut to the bus fare cap soon leading to cost savings for many bus users, Labor MP Callum Anderson asked Parliament what assessment they had made of how “lower bus fares” affected “car use”.
Transport Minister Simon Lightwood wrote a response. He said: “Evaluation data from the first 10 months of the £2 bus fare cap, which ran from January 2023 to December 2024, showed that lower bus fares encouraged some people to switch to bus travel from other modes of transport.”
Spending limit introduced
The bus travel cap was first introduced in January 2023 and was initially set at £2 to help low-income households pay for travel costs, as well as to try to encourage people to travel by bus more often. From January 2025 this increased to £3. Mr Lightwood shared some more figures showing the impact of the original bus fare cap.
In his response to the MP, he said: “In four surveys carried out as part of the assessment, between 29 and 38 per cent of respondents who reported making extra journeys by bus said that without the travel cap they would have made those journeys using another mode of transport.
“Among these respondents, a car was the most common alternative mode of transport, with 21 to 31 percent reporting that they would otherwise travel by car or van as a driver, and another 15 to 18 percent reporting that they would be traveling as a passenger.”
Millions to win
When the government announced a return to the previous £2 cap on bus fares, it said millions of people would benefit. Without the cap, the cost of a single journey on some of the most expensive routes would jump by more than £10, the government said.
Ministers expect the toll cuts will particularly benefit people living in rural and coastal areas. In these parts of the country, one-time fares may be particularly high, while these communities may have very limited transport connections.
The cap will especially save money for passengers in rural and coastal areas, where individual fares may be higher, while populated areas are left behind by poor transport connections.
“Reduced tariffs”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said when the new bus fare cap was announced: “Reducing fares will help people get where they need to go, giving them breathing space to help reduce the cost of living. As I said on my first day in office, I will build a country for everyone, everywhere.
“This means more connected communities, better access to opportunity and less strain on people’s lives.”