Lifeline for bus routes as £2 cap on local fares wins extension

theguardian.com:

The government has extended a £2 cap on local bus fares in England for another three months, amid concerns that operators would be forced to slash the number of routes on offer without the subsidy.

The fare cap, introduced initially from January to March, will continue to run from 1 April to 30 June, the Department for Transport said on Friday.

The cap was brought in to encourage people back on to public transport, after passenger numbers dropped to as low as 10% of 2019 levels during the lockdowns. The first three months of the scheme were expected to prevent 2m car journeys and their associated pollution.

Passenger numbers have recovered to about 85% to 90% of pre-Covid-19 levels, the government said. However, that still leaves some bus operators with significant shortfalls in ticket revenues, particularly on less busy routes. Those less lucrative routes are often crucial links for less connected communities, particularly in rural areas. Campaigners have previously raised concerns that they could come under threat when the £2 cap ends.

The extension of the cap outside London will cost up to £75m, while the government will spend another £80m to ensure companies continue to operate routes otherwise threatened with closure.

The transport secretary, Mark Harper, acknowledged that the bus sector was “still trying to recover after the end of the pandemic”.

For passengers the average saving is 80p a journey, although the scheme has given much larger savings to travellers on some longer routes, including some passing through England’s most spectacular scenery in Dorset, Cumbria and along the white cliffs near Brighton.

London adult single fares are capped at £1.65. A £2 cap already existed in Greater Manchester, Liverpool and West