Bus Services: Fares
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 459 on Bus Services: Concessions, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of ending the Get around for £2 bus fare scheme this year on levels of (a) national and (b) regional bus use, broken down by bus operator.
Answered by Simon Lightwood
The Department for Transport published an interim report on the £2 fare cap in September 2023 setting out emerging trends in key outcomes from the first two months of the scheme. It is available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-2-bus-fare-cap/2-bus-fare-cap-evaluation-interim-report-february-2023.
Bus patronage appears to be continuing to recover following the COVID-19 pandemic, and people making additional bus trips with the £2 bus fare cap in place are likely to be existing bus users and make a small number of additional trips.
DfT is considering the overall value for money of the £2 fare cap as part of our ongoing evaluation, which will continue over the coming months and provide richer conclusions on its effects and people’s attitudes.
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