Bus tax considered for Cambridgeshire households

Stagecoach East said it would pull out of a number of bus routes in Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's mayor is considering charging households a new bus tax to support public transport, the BBC understands.

Nik Johnson is understood to have discussed the idea with council leaders at a private meeting this month.

The news comes after Stagecoach East said it would pull out of routes in the county as they were "unsustainable".

The area's Combined Authority said it could not comment on matters discussed in private.

The Authority Board, which Labour's Mr Johnson chairs, met last week to approve contracts with new bus operators, following Stagecoach East's decision.

All 18 routes in the county that were under threat have been fully or partially backed by the new companies until the end of March, with more details due to be announced by the Combined Authority on Tuesday.

Subsidising the threatened routes until the end of the tax year will cost the authority £1.25m.

The new bus tax, if implemented, would be collected as part of households' council tax, in what is known as a precept. There are already precepts for police forces, fire services and social care.

It is unclear at what level the bus tax could be set.

Wayne Fitzgerald, the Conservative leader of Peterborough City Council and a member of the Combined Authority Board, said he was "sceptical" about the idea.

He said: "If it's a tax on the vast majority of people who don't use buses, I'm not sure that would be fair.

"I wait to hear more from officers from the Combined Authority, should such a suggestion come forward."

The BBC understands Nik Johnson has proposed a bus precept be included in council tax bills

A spokesman for the Combined Authority said: "We cannot comment on any matters relating to Leaders Strategy meetings because they are held in private.

"Leaders Strategy meetings include the opportunity for the Combined Authority board, which is chaired by the mayor, to discuss and test a range of ideas which may or may not get developed further into concrete proposals. Leaders Strategy is not a decision-making forum."

He added that the Combined Authority was "working to put in place a sustainable and affordable bus network from April 2023 onwards".

A bus strategy for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is due to be presented to the Combined Authority's Infrastructure Committee in November.