A bus ticket from Leeds to Scarborough has been slashed to £2 in a government-funded scheme to reduce traffic and pollution and make buses 'affordable for everyone'.
The fare reduction from £13 is one of the biggest savings under the Department for Transport (DfT) scheme which is designed to cut car journeys in England, outside London. More than 130 operators will be running more than 4,600 routes for £2 or less under the £60m trial which runs until March 31.
Other big savings on fares include Lancaster to Kendal, Cumbria (was £12.50) and Plymouth to Exeter (was £9.20). Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: "By helping passengers outside London save almost a third off the average single bus ticket and taking 2m cars off the road, the £2 bus fare cap is a fantastic way to start the new year.
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"Buses are a key part of our vision for a clean, efficient and modern transport network that is affordable for everyone. That’s why we’re investing £60 million to encourage everyone to hop on the bus and ‘Get Around for £2’."
A report published in July by pressure group Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) highlighted how funding pressures have led to more than a quarter of English bus services being axed in a decade. Responding to the introduction of the cap, CBT director of external affairs and former Lib Dem transport minister Norman Baker said: "Affordable bus travel really is a win-win.
"Capping bus fares in this way will help struggling households, cut traffic congestion and carbon emissions, and inject new life into dwindling bus services. We think the £2 cap should be extended indefinitely."
The DfT made more than £2bn available to bus operators to keep services in England running during the coronavirus pandemic. It said it will 'consider future support', with the current emergency funding deal expiring in March.
Buses minister Richard Holden told the PA news agency he hopes the cap on fares will boost passenger numbers. He said: "We’ve been in a situation where we’ve been putting in an awful lot of help to support buses through Covid and in more recent months coming out of the pandemic. But we really need to see those ridership numbers increase.
"We’re back up to around 80-85% on paid-for fares, and around two-thirds on concessionary travel. What I really want to do is try and move away from a situation where we’re constantly having to put more money in to subsidise routes, and instead get people back on buses so that they can be more self-sustaining for the long term. I want to see us move as close as possible to those pre-pandemic levels."
DfT figures show ridership on buses in Britain outside London was around 10% below pre-coronavirus levels in recent weeks. Martin McTague, national chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “More than a third of small firms consider public transport important to their business. It is therefore encouraging to see support on bus fares as we battle tough economic conditions.
"This move will likely encourage shoppers to go to towns and cities – just the fuel we need for economic growth."
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