Bus fares to stay capped at £2 this financial year

Single bus fares in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are to remain capped at £2 per journey until at least the end of March.

The region's Combined Authority Board approved using £1m from the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) to subsidise the fares when the government cap rises to £3 in January.

An extraordinary meeting of the board, led by Labour mayor Nik Johnson, was held on Friday to discuss and vote on it.

It heard the money from the BSIP was originally intended to be used to fund new services. However, because of staffing pressures it had not been fully spent.

The meeting heard the £1m would pay for the subsidy for three months. It heard the underspend had to be used in the 2024-5 financial year.

The fact the underspend was there was raised by Conservative leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, Anna Bailey.

She told the meeting the cash should perhaps be spent on "resourcing the team", to ensure they could bring more services into operation.

In addition to the BSIP money, the Combined Authority also charges a mayoral precept on council tax. This money is ring-fenced for bus services.

Both Bailey and Fenland District Council leader Chris Boden highlighted a lack of services in areas such as Littleport, Whittlesey and Chatteris.

They said the fare cap would be no good to people who did not have any services to use.

Both Bailey and Boden abstained from the vote, with the rest of the board voting in favour.

Improving bus services across the region has been a big focus for Dr Johnson during his time as mayor.

A consultation on bus franchising has recently finished. If plans go ahead, the services would move under the control of the authority instead of commercial operators.

"Government took an important step in supporting bus users by putting a £3 fare cap in place to the end of 2025," he said.

"As a Combined Authority, we also had the ability to act. Keeping fares as low as possible for our residents maintains our commitment to better buses, helping people get to places of work, education and leisure more affordably, and encouraging people to choose public transport."

A decision on whether to extend the cap in the longer term will be discussed at the Combined Authority's budget setting meeting in January.

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