Andy Burnham is urging people to use buses more as he confirms lower fares will be rolled out on all routes across Greater Manchester from September 4. But the mayor said he would not get to work on time if he used the bus himself.
Under the new flat fare structure, single journeys for adults would be capped at £2 and children would pay no more than £1 for each trip from September 4. Day tickets with unlimited travel on all buses would cost £5 for adults and £2 for children while 16 to 18-year-olds can still travel for free using Our Pass.
But Mr Burnham said he cannot guarantee prices will not rise in a year when the caps are reviewed, speaking of uncertainty over the future of services. It comes as 33 bus services could be axed with emergency Covid grants set to expire in October – and the government has said this funding will not continue.
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A £15m plan to save the services deemed unprofitable and maintain the frequency of a further 32 routes has now been approved by local leaders. But this relies on operators coming forward to run these routes at a time when the number of passengers using buses is still at 80 pc of pre-pandemic levels.
The Labour mayor has today (August 17) launched a campaign calling on the public to 'Get On Board' and use buses when the lower fares come into force. However, when asked whether he will be getting the bus from his home in Golborne to his office in Manchester city centre, he admitted that he won't.
He said: "I do get public transport all of the time. I just live in an area where I have to get the train because I wouldn't get into the office on time.
"It's just a reflection, I'm afraid, of where the bus system is at at the moment. It isn't the easiest to use, the routes don't always go where you want them to go and as quickly as people want them to go.
"So I'm a bit of a victim of that at the moment. But I do use public transport all of the time - I use the tram all the time, I use the bus - and I'm not asking anybody to do anything that I'm not doing myself."
Mr Burnham said he recognises the financial pressures that people are under at the moment, which is why local leaders have agreed to subsidise bus fares. Bus operators have now agreed to cap their fares using government funding awarded to Greater Manchester earlier this year to cover any loss in income.
It comes ahead of buses in the city-region being brought under public control for the first time in decades following a series of legal battles with bus firms. Fares were set to be slashed when the new franchising system - which is due to be launched in Wigan and Bolton in September 2023 - comes into effect.
But back in June, Mr Burnham announced plans to fast-track the new fare structure from September to help passengers with the cost of living crisis. Oldham council leader Amanda Chadderton, who is the cost of living lead for Greater Manchester, said the new fares could save passengers up to £25m.
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Speaking at a press conference in Manchester which she travelled to by tram, the Labour councillor said the move 'puts money back in people's pockets'. She said: "The bus is the most popular form of public transport in Greater Manchester.
"A third of households in Greater Manchester don't have a car and are reliant on buses to get to work, to get to school, to see their friends and families. This saves on some bus journeys by 50 pc.
"Being able to travel around the city-region for £5 a day is an absolutely huge saving for our residents."
The London-style public transport system - which will be called the Bee Network - will be rolled out across Greater Manchester by the end of 2024. The new system will see ticketing on trams and buses integrated and give local leaders control over bus fares and routes under a franchising system.
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