Andy Burnham has been urged to put the national cap on bus fares back to £2, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Daniel Holland.
The new Prime Minister is reportedly keen to introduce a £2 limit on the cost of a bus journey across the country, among a series of promised actions to help people struggling with the cost of living.
Such a cap was in force under the previous Conservative government, but was increased to £3 by Labour in January 2025.
Mr Burnham kept local fares at the lower £2 rate during his time as mayor of Greater Manchester and, according to The i Paper, wants to now see that extended nationwide.
North East mayor Kim McGuinness told council leaders on Tuesday that doing so would “make a massive difference to the people of our region and beyond”.
She has capped bus fares in the North East at £2.50 and warned recently that a failure from Whitehall to commit to long-term financial backing for cheaper fares would jeopardise the project.
It is currently expected to cost the mayor’s office £32 million in 2026/27 to reimburse public transport operators for the income they lose as a result of the fare cap.
Ms McGuinness told a North East mayoral authority cabinet meeting at Durham’s Riverside cricket ground that England had been the “most centralised country for far too long” and that Mr Burnham arrived in Downing Street with “really high expectations” of reversing that.
The Labour mayor added: “I think, as an illustration of how London-centric and at times elitist this country can be, I have heard over the last couple of days a number of commentators saying things along the lines of ‘oh, he’s talking about doing something with the buses, but what about the real policy?’
“I think that is so backwards when it comes to what really affects people day to day. In this region and elsewhere across the country, the cost of living is the single biggest thing worrying people. We know more people use the bus than any other form of public transport put together. An intervention on buses that is about the cost of living… if you don’t think that is real policy then you need to take a step back and have a think about what you expect from leadership in this country.”
The mayor is currently running a 12-week public consultation on her plans to take the North East’s bus network under public control, as Mr Burnham had done with his Bee Network in Manchester. Around 3,350 people have taken part in the exercise so far.
Her vision would see private companies like Stagecoach and Go North East stripped of their power over bus fares, routes, and timetables, and instead forced to bid for contracts to run services to terms set by public authorities.
Transport bosses believe that reversing the deregulation of the 1980s would make region’s bus fares 22% cheaper after 10 years and lead to 15.7 million extra journeys annually by 2059 than would be the case if private operators were left in control.
Daniel Holland
Reporter for the Local Democracy Reporter Service.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
