County mayor proposes keeping bus fares at £2

Bus fares across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough would be kept at £2 under the proposal

A mayor has proposed keeping the £2 bus fare cap.

Dr Nik Johnson, who is Labour mayor for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, has made the suggestion, which will be discussed at a meeting next week.

The government announced in October that the £2 bus fare cap would be raised to £3 nationally from January. The mayor of Greater Manchester has already committed to retaining the £2 cap in his area.

Papers published ahead of the extraordinary meeting of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority board suggested it would cost £1m for the three months, between January and March 2025.

Mayor Nik Johnson has also been consulting on a bus franchising system

The money would come from the Bus Service Improvement Plan grant - a pot of money given to local authorities to support bus services.

In order to use it for the fare cap, two thirds of the Combined Authority board need to agree.

The board is made up of councillors from across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The extraordinary meeting has been called for Friday, 13 December.

Funding for April 2025 onwards would be discussed during budget setting for the next financial year.

The Combined Authority already funds other concessionary fares. The Tiger Pass provides a £1 bus fare cap for people under the age of 25. It has also approved paying for fares for concessionary pass holders before 09:30.

Papers published ahead of the meeting say the authority has asked bus companies for feedback. It states that if fares are raised to £3, then it "may result in lower patronage and therefore lower overall income and revenue for operators, which may put pressure on viability".

Separately, the Combined Authority has been consulting on a franchising system.

A consultation closed in November and a decision on whether to proceed is expected in January.