Bus fare cap - ongoing issue, merged posts

[whole diary]

[grahame]

The next United Kingdom general election is scheduled to be held no later than 28 January 2025. It will determine the composition of the House of Commons.

I expect the £2.50 will extend until March 2025 if the election goes "to the wire".

[Richard Fairhurst]

Very pleased to see that Pulhams are now joining the fare cap scheme following their acquisition by Go-Ahead/Oxford Bus Company.

[ChrisB]

The next United Kingdom general election is scheduled to be held no later than 28 January 2025. It will determine the composition of the House of Commons.

I expect the £2.50 will extend until March 2025 if the election goes "to the wire".

You reckon it'll go to the wire? Seriously??

[CyclingSid]

Very pleased to see that Pulhams are now joining the fare cap scheme following their acquisition by Go-Ahead/Oxford Bus Company.

Possibly the only good thing of being acqured by by Go-Ahead/Oxford Bus Company?

[Richard Fairhurst]

I'd be more charitable than that! OBC have a knack for promotion and have shown they're willing to try and grow the business. Pulhams were lovely as independents, but I don't think I've ever seen a single piece of promotion for the X9 ("our" bus, Witney–Charlbury–Chipping Norton), and they only introduced card payment on it when OCC funded them to do so.

I'd pretty much resigned myself to the X9 being abandoned in a year or two and left for a community transport organisation to pick up. It may still happen but having the heft of OBC behind it gives it a fighting chance.

[bobm]

In Swindon we have Go-Ahead and Stagecoach.   I know which I prefer.  A modern fleet v an ageing one. 

[JayMac]

Whenever I'm travelling around the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) I'm always glad when the local bus operator in a particular area is Go Ahead.

Miles *ahem* Ahead of First, Stagecoach or Arriva.

[CyclingSid]

Bus fares in rural England drop 11% thanks to government's £2 fare cap
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/bus-fares-in-rural-england-drop-11-thanks-to-governments-2-fare-cap
How does this translate to the income of the companies who run the buses? I believe the number of rural bus routes has continued to decline this year.

[Ralph Ayres]

I understood that the bus companies were being compensated for any lost revenue, though it's not clear to me how that is calculated.  Comparing with the previous year isn't realistic cos of the pandemic, changes to routes etc, and most drivers don't bother asking where you are going so it's not based on what price you would have paid which might have gone up by now anyway. No mention of how much the overall subsidy has cost in the press release, which actually raises more questions than it answers if you look at it in detail. The sentence about fares being comparable to 2007 particularly stands out. I would hope some of the media would ask for more background, but most will probably just copy and paste what amounts to a government promotional piece.

[stuving]

I can't find the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)'s own version of the rules for the Bus Fare Cap Grant. This is from TransportXtra, who also reported the extension in May without any mention of alterations.

£2 bus fare cap operator payments to be fixed
Peter Stonham    29 November 2022

More details have been revealed on how operators will be reimbursed for offering a maximum £2 bus fare for three months starting in January. The Government's Bus Fare Cap Grant (BFCG) will distribute the £60m allocated to the £2 flat fare scheme planned in England outside London for January to March.

Participating operators look set to be offered a fixed funding allocation in early December, before they need to confirm whether they will take part.

Consultancy firm EY UK^▸ (United Kingdom) has been engaged by DfT to collect the data necessary to calculate allocations, which will be capped at £20m for each of the three months in question. Key questions being addressed in draft BFCG guidance relate to the treatment of losses or profits of those involved in the scheme, what services they agree to include – probably all their network – and the competitive consequences between those operators taking part and those not doing so

DfT issued the draft guidance in early November and made clear that terms within it are subject to change. Among other provisions are acceptance of concessionary passes and the impacts of established fare capping arrangements. On services that cross borders to Scotland or Wales, only journeys beginning in England will be eligible for the grant.

Calculation of the sum to be offered to each operator will be carried out via a four-stage process that first uses a baselining exercise to calculate average revenue loss per ticket, followed by forecasting of BFCG take-up and a generation factor to reflect expected growth in demand, including adjustment for passengers switching from other tickets to the £2 fare.

When it announced the cap in September Ministers said offering people support during the cost-of-living crisis was a key reason for its creation, though encouragement of post-Pandemic patronage return was another.

I'd guess that the amounts have been recalculated for any offer to operators for the extension.

[JayMac]

The rise from £2 to £2.50 on 31st October will now not go ahead. To remain at £2 until December 2024.

[Phantom]

Great to hear

I've actually use the local bus service more in the past two months that I did in the previous two years

[JayMac]

Notwithstanding my bus woes today (as told elsewhere), I too have made considerably more bus journeys since the fare cap came in.

[ChrisB]

I thought that the previous Government had committed to the bus fare cap at £2 until the end of this year, followed by another year at £2.50?

From The Independent, via MSN

Ministers are being urged to avoid imposing a “cliff edge” return to commercial bus fares on passengers in England after refusing to commit to extending the £2 cap.

Bus companies said it is vital the cost of using their services is kept low for young people to “enhance their access to education and jobs”.

Single bus fares in England have been capped at £2 since January last year, but the Labour Government has declined to say whether the policy will continue past the current end date of December 31.

Alison Edwards, director of policy and external relations at industry body the Confederation of Passenger Transport, said: “Bus operators are working closely with the Government so that together we can find a way to avoid a cliff edge return to commercial fares.

“Analysis has shown that supporting fares, which can be done in a range of different ways, is great value for money and can support many other Government objectives.

“For example, keeping fares low for young people would enhance their access to education and jobs while also encouraging them to develop sustainable travel habits to last a lifetime.”

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said in a recent interview with the PA^▸ (Public Address (broadcast loudspeaker announcements) or Passenger Assist (railway staff providing physical assistance to passengers with mobility issues), depending on context) news agency that her officials were “looking at various options” in relation to the cap, including whether they could “target it better”.

In response to a parliamentary question on the issue last month, transport minister Simon Lightwood wrote that the Government was “urgently considering the most effective and affordable ways” of delivering “reliable and affordable public transport services”.

Passengers travelling long distances in rural areas or between towns and cities are likely to suffer the biggest fare rises if the cap is not extended.

When it introduced the policy, the Conservative government said routes with some of the biggest per journey savings were between Leeds and Scarborough (£13), Lancaster and Kendall (£12.50), and Plymouth and Exeter (£9.20).

[grahame]

I thought that the previous Government had committed to the bus fare cap at £2 until the end of this year, followed by another year at £2.50?

I think it was to be £2 until (?) the end of 2023, then £2.50 through 2024.  But that might have been a bit of a vote looser, mightn't it?   It was another scheme which would / will be difficult to sustain long term unless someone at the top decides to grow public transport use by making it attractively cheap, even at cost to the treasury.