The previous Conservative government capped single bus fares in England at £2 in January 2023. The scheme was initially only due to last three months but was extended.
As mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham brought in a £2 cap in September 2022, at that point funded by money from central government.
The original fare subsidy applied in England, outside of London, with bus operators taking part on a voluntary basis. The £2 cap was initially meant both as a cost of living measure and to encourage people back on buses in the wake of the pandemic.
The Office for National Statistics said it played a role in reducing inflation in 2023, and it appeared popular.
An evaluation of the first ten months – not published until 2025 – found that the scheme did contribute 5% of the 13% rise in bus usage during that period. Lower-income passengers felt the most financial benefit.
However it did not score highly when it comes to value for money. How much money people saved varied depending how much fares in their local area cost before the cap.
In those first ten months, £210m was spent on the scheme, less than the £245m budget.
Even if fare-capping measures had increased demand for bus travel, numbers are still recovering from the huge drop in usage during Covid.
By March 2025, 1.9 billion journeys were made on local buses in England outside of London – around 93% of pre-pandemic levels.
