Single bus fares to be capped at £2 across England as PM tells LBC 'a fairer Britain is where we all want to be'
The nationwide cap is currently set at £3 until the end of March 2027
Andy Burnham has told LBC his move to cap most single bus fares in England at £2 from next year will create a "fairer Britain".
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The cap on fares outside of London will help millions with the cost of living crisis by slashing maximum fares by a third for the rest of 2027.
Writing exclusively for LBC Opinion, the new PM said the move is "putting money where it will make a real difference to people’s lives".
"We know that people are working harder than ever just to stand still but Westminster hasn’t been doing enough to help," he wrote.
Mr Burnham added: "Before I entered 10 Downing Street on Monday, I promised that this government would do something to give people some breathing space now. And we are.
"Yesterday, we scrapped VAT on electricity bills. Today, we’re cutting the cost of getting around on the most used form of public transport. We can afford to do these things because we’re making different choices.
"We’re putting money where it will make a real difference to people’s lives – back in their pockets."
He added: "A fairer bus fare is just the start. A fairer Britain is where we all want to be. Let’s bring back hope."
The measure is backed by £454 million of funding – including money to allow devolved governments to take similar action.
Some £400 million of that funding will come from switching investment in international climate finance to loans, with the rest from savings in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero budget.
The total cost of the scheme is expected to be more than £500 million, with the rest coming from Department for Transport funding already allocated to buses.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told LBC: "We think this is a really important thing to do to help the millions of people across England who depend upon our buses every day.
"About 1 in 5 people in this country don't have access to a car, and we know that buses are a lifeline"
"An affordable, reliable, high-quality public transport network is key to local economies," she added.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: "Good, affordable transport links are an essential. No one should be priced out of those and left behind.
"But for too long people have said that cheaper transport isn’t an option. I don’t accept that. I’ve done it before and I will do it again now: a £2 cap on bus fares for millions across the country.
"Lower fares will help people get to where they need to – giving them breathing space to help with the cost of living.
"As I said on my first day in office – I will build a country for everyone, everywhere. That means more connected communities, better access to opportunities, and a lighter load on people’s lives."
The nationwide cap is currently set at £3 until the end of March 2027 although some areas – including London and Greater Manchester, where Mr Burnham set a £2 limit as mayor – have lower top rates for single tickets.
The last £2 fare cap saw around 30 million extra journeys taken by bus across 10 months.
The Government says that without the new cap, single fares could reach £10 on services on the most expensive routes - typically in rural and coastal areas left behind by insufficient transport options.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey MP said: “We are capping bus fares at £2 for everyone throughout 2027, slashing fares by a third for millions of people, to help give them the breathing space they need.
Burnham's government is supporting six mayoral authorities to set up bus franchising, which will allow local leaders to deliver better services for their communities.
There are also plans for a consultation on ways to give extra planning powers to regional mayors to give them the final say on public transport decisions.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: "This is about making those everyday journeys easier and cheaper. We're cutting fares by a third to help with the cost of living, open up opportunities and keep people connected to work, school, healthcare and their friends and family.”
The announcement comes as it was revealed that an estimated 7.4 million low-income UK households were not able to afford at least one essential item in the last six months, anti-poverty organisation the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said.
This is the highest number since it began running its cost-of-living tracker survey in 2021 and is an increase from 7.1 million a year ago.
The figures, which involved a survey of 4,121 households in the bottom 40 per cent of incomes between May 7 and June 5, mean Andy Burnham begins his premiership in Downing Street “at a time when the cost-of-living crisis has never been more widely felt”, JRF said.