Bus passengers could be travelling across Greater Manchester for no more than £2 a journey or £5 for an entire day’s travel by the end of the summer. The new capped fares are part of a plan to fast-track major reform, offset the cost of living and entice people back to public transport.
The fare caps - which mark the biggest change passengers will have seen since deregulation in 1986 - also include a single journey fare capped at £1 for children. The streamlined prices, a key component of Mayor Andy Burnham’s transformation of the bus network, will be launched in September, brought forward from Autumn 2023.
And whereas the initial plan was for a gradual roll-out across the conurbation, passengers across the whole of Greater Manchester will now benefit at the same time. The plan is reliant on co-operation from bus operators and the Government but means passengers could finally be freed from a ‘fragmented’ system involving more than 830 services run by 30 operators with 150 different ticket types.
