Greater Manchester £2 capped bus fares extended until September 2024

Mr Burnham says he wants more people to commit to public transport

The £2 capped fares for bus journeys in Greater Manchester will continue until September 2024 thanks to government funding, the region's mayor said.

Mayor Andy Burnham also announced new combined bus and tram tickets, which will cut travel costs in the region by up to 20% from September.

It is part of plans for when the region's bus network comes under public control in September.

It would mark a "London-style integrated fare structure", he said.

Single journey fares have been capped at £2 for adults and £1 for children since September last year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

'Significantly cheaper'

Mr Burnham said he hoped the cheaper fares would encourage people to use the Bee Network which starts operating on 24 September.

"People across the city region will be able to travel on unlimited buses and trams and they will only pay up to a certain level, which will be significantly cheaper than it is now," he said.

"We want more people to move away from their car and commit to public transport and, by doing so, save money."

Mr Burnham also announced two of the region's railway routes, Stalybridge to Victoria and Glossop to Piccadilly, would become the first outside London to pilot contactless pay-as-you-go travel.

He said this would be a step towards integrating the rail service in a similar way to Greater Manchester's buses and trams and hoped it would pave the way for multi-mode tickets across the Metrolink, bus and rail services by 2030.

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