Derbyshire council’s transport chief has expressed her disappointment at the expected Government plan to increase the single bus fare cap from £2 to £3 which she says feels like a ‘tax on transport’.
The new Labour Government is reportedly said to be considering billions of pounds in tax rises and spending cuts in the Autumn Budget to be announced today, October 30, after claiming the previous Conservative Government left behind a £22bn blackhole in the public finances.
And prior to the budget announcement, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has revealed that the £2 single bus fare cap which was introduced by the previous Conservative Government to address the cost of living crisis will be increased to £3 in England.
Cllr Charlotte Cupit, Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport at Derbyshire County Council, said: “It is very disappointing to see the scrapping of the £2 bus fare and the planned increase.
“I know from many residents how popular this scheme has been in encouraging people to use the bus, but also as a help with daily travel costs and expenses. This increase feels like a tax on transport we all rely on as well as on working people.”
The single bus fare cap increase revelation comes as the Conservative-controlled county council has been rolling out a £47m Bus Improvement Plan with two new bus stations and work at eight other locations to promote public transport and help reduce congestion and CO2 emissions.
Cllr Cupit added: “The scrapping of the £2 cap comes at a crucial time as bus services are continuing to recover from the challenges of the pandemic, and risks setting back the work we’ve done in Derbyshire to improve and increase bus services under our £47m Bus Service Improvement Plan which has seen an 8.4per cent increase in passengers since 2022 and positive passenger feedback too.
“Bus services need passengers to be sustainable and this move risks deterring that, but we’ll keep working on positive improvements to public transport – unlike Labour who have just paid lip service saying they want to deliver better bus services, but then increasing the costs of them.”
The Confederation of Passenger Transport fears a single bus fare cap increase to £3 will pose challenges to many passengers, and Greenpeace says the move does not consider the poorest in society and it makes ‘no political, economic or environmental sense’.
Some are concerned the increased fare cap may make it harder for poorer residents particularly those in rural areas to get about and to work further-a-field while at the same time it may deter bus travel and result in more car use and traffic congestion causing more CO2 emissions harming the environment.
Sir Keir Starmer said he does know how much this matter means to people particularly in rural communities where there is greater reliance on buses.
The new cap is expected to run until the end of 2025 and will follow the existing £2 cap which was due to expire in December, 2024.
There had been concerns Chancellor Rachel Reeves was going to announce scrapping the current cap altogether in the Autumn Budget which some feared would lead to bus companies increasing fares after shouldering the £2 fare cap.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has said Greater Manchester is in control of its own fares by putting public transport back into public ownership as its single bus fares will remain at £2 and those under Transport for London will remain at £1.75.
Both Greater Manchester and London are excluded from the wider fare cap because their funding is structured differently.
Cllr Cupit said: “Given that standard fares will stay at or below £2 in Manchester and London under their Mayors, we’re continuing to call on the Government to provide the transport and highways investment we need, and for some of this to be used towards ticketing offers so that Derbyshire residents can benefit from the same public transport offers as the cities.”
