Warrington: Council bids to keep £2 bus fare cap until 2025

The Warrington local fare £2 cap would be paid for by around £16m of government funding

Bus services in a town could remain capped at £2 until March 2025, if council plans are approved.

Warrington Council's cabinet will discuss proposals for a raft of improvements to bus services next week.

They include new bus lanes and traffic signal technology, as well as £6m to fund a local bus fare cap to last beyond the national scheme.

The £1 bus fare cap for children would also be extended to cover young people up to the age of 19.

The £2 cap on bus fares in England, which applies to more than 130 bus operators, was extended again by the government until the end of October, rising to £2.50 in November.

Warrington's plan to keep the cap beyond October would be paid for by around £16m of government funding, awarded to the council in 2022.

Bus gates

The funding for the Warrington local fare cap would cover the capping of fares for under 19s at £1 from 1 July, and the adult fare capped until 31 March 2025.

The proposals also include improvement works on the A49 Winwick Road which would include sections of a new bus lane, bus gates and traffic signal technology.

Around £9.9m of Department for Transport funding would pay for the A49 works.

More than 85% of services and vehicles in Warrington are operated by Warrington's Own Buses, which is majority-owned by the council.

The plans are to be discussed by the council's cabinet on Monday.

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