Cap on bus fares extended until 2025 after £11m of taxpayer subsidies promised

A CAP on fares for bus passengers in West Yorkshire has been extended until March 2025 after operators were promised another £11m of taxpayer-funded subsidies.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) agreed to hand the money over as part of a deal which means passengers will continue to pay £2 for a single and £4.50.

The operators have already been promised £33.9m of subsidies to cap fares since September 2022, as part of the ‘Mayor’s Fares’ scheme.

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin decided the money, which was provided by the government, should be used to lower fares during the cost-of-living crisis and encourage more people to travel by bus.

At a public meeting, Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, chair of WYCA’s Transport Committee, said struggling operators have been using some of the money to cover the cost of running “core services”, even though that was “not the intention”.

Operators across the country were capping single fares at £2 in exchange for subsidies as part of a separate government-run scheme until November, when the cap rose to £2.50 for one year.

In West Yorkshire, the Mayors Fares scheme is part of WYCA’s £91m Bus Service Improvement Plan. It promises to make services more affordable, more frequent and more reliable.

As part of that plan, £38.9m will be spent on upgrading the bus network and increasing services.

It comes as Ms Brabin is looking to deliver a key election pledge by bringing buses back under public control from 2027, claiming it would make services across the region more reliable and more affordable.

The current plan would see WYCA take full control of the bus network so it can make decisions about routes, services and fares.

Ms Brabin is planning to make a decision in March, after a public consultation.