Andy Burnham, the new prime minister of the UK, has announced that he will introduce a £2 cap on bus fares across the country from January 2027.
Previously, as Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham brought in a £2 cap in September 2022, which at that point was funded by money from central government.
The former Conservative government introduced a £2 limit on single fares from January 2023, which was raised to £3 under Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Government from January 2025.
The new Labour leader, and the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade, delivered his inaugural speech on Monday 20 July, promising “to give people some breathing space” and “help with the cost of living”.
“We welcome the passenger facing reduction in the maximum bus fare in England, outside of London, to £2. It will be especially beneficial in urban areas where the current £3 cap was matching many typical ‘normal’ fares. The previous £2 fare cap showed a 5% increase in bus travel, so we are optimistic for an increase in passenger numbers. The initiative will need to be supported by a suitable mechanism to support operators financially for the lost revenue. We also remain concerned about congestion levels and believe that in conjunction with the £2 fare investment in bus infrastructure will need to continue at pace.”
In a recent Instagram video earlier this month, Burnham said he wanted to see if there’s anything that can be done to support young people with the cost of bus travel by reducing ticket prices. In Manchester, 16 and 17-year-olds can travel by bus for free across the region following a policy brought in by Burnham in 2019. He also brought local buses back under public control during his tenure as mayor, with a franchising system that means local authorities can set routes, timetables and fare caps while private companies bid to operate services.
Burnham intends to bring the Manchester blueprint to the rest of the UK, pledging to take greater public control of the country’s utilities in his first speech as Labour leader on Friday 17 July.