UK PM Burnham announces £2 cap on single bus fares across England

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced that single bus fares across England will be capped at £2 from January. The measure, which applies across England except London, replaces the current £3 cap in place until March 2027, though some areas including London and Greater Manchester already had lower limits.

The initiative is backed by £454 million in funding, including money to allow devolved governments to take similar action. About £400 million of that will come from switching international climate finance investments to loans, with the remainder from savings in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero budget. The total cost of the scheme is expected to exceed £500 million, with the rest coming from Department for Transport funding already allocated to buses.

The £2 cap will be in place throughout 2027 and reverses an increase implemented by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves in 2024. A £2 cap had been in place between January 2023 and December 2024, but the incoming Labour administration argued it was not affordable, although some metro mayors, including Burnham, decided to fund an extension in their areas.

Burnham said: "Good, affordable transport links are an essential. No one should be priced out of those and left behind." He added that lower fares will help people get where they need to, giving them breathing space with the cost of living.

Chancellor John Healey said millions would benefit from fares being slashed by a third and insisted the measure could be paid for. "This action to ease the cost of living is funded by savings made elsewhere, so there's no burden to British taxpayers, just pounds going back into their pockets," he said.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the move would make "everyday journeys easier and cheaper".