Greater Manchester to keep £2 bus fare cap - as rest of England will pay more

The bus fare cap will remain at £2 in Greater Manchester despite it rising to £3 in the rest of the country.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham confirmed the move on Tuesday (29 October), a day after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the bus fare cap would rise by 50 percent to £3. The new cap comes in for the start next year, as the previous Conservative government only implemented the £2 cap until the end of 2024.

“I do know how much this matters, particularly in rural communities where there’s heavy reliance on buses,” the PM said on Monday (28 October).

“That’s why I’m able to say to you this morning that in the Budget we will announce there will be a £3 cap on bus fares to the end of 2025 because I know how important it is.”

Cut-price bus journeys were first introduced in Greater Manchester in August 2022, with the rest of the country following suit later that year thanks to a government subsidy. But the government’s forthcoming £3 cap led to speculation on if Greater Manchester journeys would also get more expensive.

 

 

However, Mr Burnham has ruled out a rise in adult single bus fares for at least another 12 months. In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, he said: “Greater Manchester is on course to complete the re-regulation of buses on time and on budget early in the New Year, becoming the first city-region outside London to put them fully back under public control after four decades of deregulation.

“Our policy aim throughout has been to create a low-fare, high-patronage system similar to the one that has brought higher growth and productivity to London. This will remain the mission of the Bee Network.

“On 5 January 2025, we will proceed with our plan to introduce a new simpler, flatter fare structure based around a £2 single fare and, on 23 March 2025, a contactless London-style payment system with a daily and weekly cap setting a maximum for what people pay when travelling on our buses and trams.

“Because of the decisions we have taken, and the progress we have made, GM is in a different position to other areas across England when it comes to bus funding and bus fares.

“We are beginning to benefit from similar financial advantages as those long enjoyed by London.

“Firstly, the per-kilometre cost of our new contracts are on average one third cheaper than tenders in the old deregulated system.

"Secondly, by taking control of the farebox, any profits from rising patronage can be kept and recycled for the benefit of GM residents rather than retained by private operators.

“Thirdly, control of the system allows us to take further steps to help our residents. For instance, by making annual Bee Bus Passes available through our 14 credit unions via weekly payments, residents can cut the cost of weekly bus travel by around £5.”

The statement went on to say the £2 cap will stay, but is subject to a review: “We hope that the measures we are taking will continue the increase in patronage we have seen since the introduction of the original £2 cap in September 2022 and the launch of the Bee Network in September 2023.

"The more that people use the system, the easier it will be for us to sustain the low-fare structure.

“This said, it is only by the middle of 2025 when we have completed Phase 1 of the Bee Network, and we know the level of government funding we have, that we will be in a position to judge the financial outlook for the new system.

“So, based on the above, we can confirm that we are sticking with the £2 cap for the whole of 2025 but subject to a mid-year review.

“By maintaining this approach, we will continue to help our residents in these difficult times. While our plan has always involved asking for an increase in the Mayoral precept in financial year 25/26 on completion of the Bee Network, we are confident that our residents can recover the cost within a couple of weeks if they use the system as we hope they will.

“We understand it is easier and cheaper to maintain a £2 cap in a regulated system and expensive for the Government to subsidise it in a deregulated one, but they have maintained the principle of a cap.

“Greater Manchester was the first to propose the £2 cap in March 2022, introducing it in September that year ahead of the national £2 scheme, and we will keep it as long [as] we can.”

It’s understood the government funding used to subsidise Greater Manchester buses is different to the pot which will be used for £3 fares.

Ethan Davies, Local Democracy Reporter