The government has extended a £2 cap on local bus fares in England for another three months, amid concerns that operators would be forced to slash the number of routes on offer without the subsidy.
The fare cap, introduced initially from January to March, will continue to run from 1 April to 30 June, the Department for Transport said on Friday.
The cap was brought in to encourage people back on to public transport, after passenger numbers dropped to as low as 10% of 2019 levels during the lockdowns. The first three months of the scheme were expected to prevent 2m car journeys and their associated pollution.
Passenger numbers have recovered to about 85% to 90% of pre-Covid-19 levels, the government said. However, that still leaves some bus operators with significant shortfalls in ticket revenues, particularly on less busy routes. Those less lucrative routes are often crucial links for less connected communities, particularly in rural areas. Campaigners have previously raised concerns that they could come under threat when the £2 cap ends.
The extension of the cap outside London will cost up to £75m, while the government will spend another £80m to ensure companies continue to operate routes otherwise threatened with closure.
The transport secretary, Mark Harper, acknowledged that the bus sector was “still trying to recover after the end of the pandemic”.
For passengers the average saving is 80p a journey, although the scheme has given much larger savings to travellers on some longer routes, including some passing through England’s most spectacular scenery in Dorset, Cumbria and along the white cliffs near Brighton.
London adult single fares are capped at £1.65. A £2 cap already existed in Greater Manchester, Liverpool and West Yorkshire, under schemes introduced by metro mayors in those areas.
Anthony Smith, the chief executive of Transport Focus, the UK’s passenger watchdog, said the extension was “very good news”. He said the initial scheme had prompted “a very positive reaction both in terms of the awareness of the £2 fares and the usage of it”, with 7% of a poll of 1,000 people surveyed saying they had used the bus more because of it.
Emily Turner, a writer and podcast host who travelled from London to Edinburgh using only £2 buses, welcomed the extension.
“I know it’s not perfect, but it will help a lot of people and promote public transport,” Turner tweeted.
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Smith said he hoped the scheme’s extension could help bus operators move towards a system that can be sustainable.
“The key, if it’s possible, is to move towards sustained funding,” Smith said. “The more people you get on board the more it will fund itself. This is a great way to kick start it.”
Rishi Sunak said: “I want to make bus travel affordable for all. That’s why we’re continuing to cap fares at £2 and protecting local routes, ensuring we have a modern and efficient network that’s accessible for everyone.”
He said increasing bus use would “strengthen communities and help grow the economy – connecting people to jobs, driving pensioners to see friends and family, and helping people attend medical appointments or access education”.
