Warrington's £2 bus fare cap to begin

The cap will stay in place in Warrington despite a wider national cap coming to an end

A cap on bus fares comes into force in a Cheshire town this weekend keeping costs at £2 until March 2025.

Warrington Borough Council signed off plans earlier this year which also will extend the age at which the £1 junior fare can be claimed to 19.

It will be paid for by about £16m of government funding, which will also be used to put on extra services, a new bus lane and traffic signal technology.

The wider national £2 fare cap is due to end in October.

After that date, adult fares nationally will be £2.50 but the local cap will remain at £2 in Warrington until 31 March 2025.

Warrington has previously received funding under the government's Zero Emission Bus Regional Area scheme to bring in an all-electric bus fleet, while work is also under way on a new bus depot.

More than 85% of services and vehicles in Warrington are operated by the council majority-owned arms-length municipal bus company, Warrington's Own Buses.

Councillor Hans Mundry, cabinet member for transport, said the authority wanted public transport to "come to the top of people's agenda".

He said: "It's not one thing, it's a combination, and we're working on this from all different angles to make sure it's as easy as possible for people to have a choice in what they want to do.

"So they don't have to say 'I've got no choice, I've got to jump in the car'.

"You have got a choice and we're creating that opportunity of choice for people to use."

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