Will the bus fare cap rise be 'the sort of thing Labour regret'?
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Labour will invest £1 billion into UK bus routes, but raise the maximum fare cap to £3, drawing concerns this will make a “tangible” difference to people across the country.
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In brief…
- The maximum bus fare in most parts of the UK will rise from £2 to £3 at the end of December, with an inevitable effect on people relying on public transport.
- The News Agents say this is an example of the government targeting working people where it “really matters”.
- Polling organisation More In Common say people will see a “tangible” impact in higher prices of bus travel.
What's the story?
Get a bus to work? You might be paying an extra £1 per journey from the start of 2025.
The government has announced a rise in the maximum cost for a single journey from £2 to £3 from the end of December, in parts of the UK outside London and Manchester – which are funded differently to public services in other parts of the country.
It comes alongside a pledge of a £1 billion investment in "vital bus routes".
But a daily fare increase could quickly add up for the average person, as someone getting a bus to and from work, five days a week, would find themselves paying an extra £40 for travel every month.
Labour is currently working to plug a £22 billion "black hole" it claims was left by the previous Tory government. Previous measures to recoup some of this cash, such as axing winter fuel payments to pensioners, has been met with backlash.
What has the government said?
A government statement claims that some bus fares in the UK could have risen by up to £13 when the current cap expires, and claims the new, higher cap will keep bus travel "affordable" and "fair".
Transport secretary Louise Haigh says the new cap will "avoid a cliff-edge at the end of this year and keep fares affordable across the country – improving access to opportunities, particularly in towns and rural areas, while offering value for the taxpayer."
Keir Starmer, announcing the bus fare price rise, said he is aware of how important public transport services are.
What’s The News Agents’ take?
Jon Sopel describes the rise in the bus fare cap as "one of those things that may seem like in Treasury terms, is the smallest column on a spreadsheet, but for an awful lot of people it really matters."
The News Agents were joined by Luke Tryl, of polling organisation More In Common, who had been speaking to people across the UK about the rise in the bus fare cap.
He says people polled have described the current fare cap as something that has made their lives "tangibly easier".
“It has the potential to be so dangerous, because you're taking away or raising something that people know,” he says.
“They can see it in their day-to-day life. And of course, you have the perceived unfairness that the cap in London is much lower.”
The cap in London will remain at £1.75 per journey.
“If you live in London, you have six different ways of getting anywhere,” says Emily Maitlis.
“If you don't live in London, you can wait two hours for a bus – and that can be the difference between whether you actually do the thing that you want to do, or you don't do it and stay at home.”
Tryl says people outside of London, who do drive more than those in the capital, see this as "an unfairness".
“I do worry that this will be the sort of thing that Labour regret – like the winter fuel allowance.
“It sounds like a good idea to do but it's very tangible.”
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