Bus fares to be capped at £2 in 2027: CCN responds

Today the government has announced that bus fares outside of London will be capped at £2 from January, with the change lasting for the duration of 2027.

Below, the County Councils Network responds to the announcement.

Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, Vice-Chair of the County Councils Network, said:

“Today’s announcement of fares being capped at £2 is good news and will make a difference for county residents, with rural bus services a lifeline for many of those communities. The County Councils Network (CCN) has called for fares to be capped at £2 and we would like government to go further and make this cap permanent.

“Whilst the cap improves affordability, many county and rural areas suffer from patchy and infrequent services. Indeed, in some areas there are no services at all. The CCN’s research reveals that almost a fifth of services in county areas have vanished since 2018, with many rural bus services in a state of managed decline. The previous government’s National Bus Strategy failed to arrest this decline and focused money on urban areas which already had more frequent services.

“A new government provides the chance for a reset. Future funding for bus services must be focused on those areas where bus services are disappearing, leaving many young people in particular stranded and unable to access employment and work. Considering county and rural areas have distinct challenges, we would like to see a County Bus Strategy, aimed at overcoming these specific issues and improving service coverage.”

 Last year, the CCN released research that showed that almost a fifth - 18% of bus services had vanished in county areas between 2018 and 2024. The same study found that urban areas - with typically better service levels - had received almost double the amount of county areas on average from the previous government's National Bus Strategy. Recap on that research here.

The CCN also released a report in 2024 examining county bus services. It called for the £2 cap to be made permanent and for government to produce a dedicated County Bus Strategy.

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