South Yorkshire: Bus and Supertram fares to be capped at £2

The move in South Yorkshire comes ahead of a national £2 cap on bus journeys in January.

Bus and tram fares in South Yorkshire will be capped at £2 from 1 November, it has been announced.

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) said it had set aside £600,000 for the initiative, which would see some fares halved in price.

The freeze would reduce the cost of more than 700,000 journeys which cost more than £2, it added.

Oliver Coppard, South Yorkshire's Labour mayor, said the plans aimed to tackle the cost of living crisis.

South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard has set aside £600,000 to fund the fare cap

Mr Coppard said: "I know just how many people in South Yorkshire are worrying about feeding their families, heating their homes and affording the very day-to-day basics as the cost of living continues to spiral."

South Yorkshire's move comes ahead of a national £2 cap on bus journeys in January.

Mr Coppard said: "Public transport is part of the solution. That's why we're not just introducing the £2 [bus] fare cap early here in South Yorkshire, we're extending it to include trams."

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Bus and Supertram journeys which already cost under £2 would not be affected, SYMCA said.

The move follows a £12.3m rescue package from the authority to protect bus routes and school services from cuts by operators.