Bus £2 fare cap extended for three months

The £2 cap on bus fares in England has been extended for three months following warnings that hundreds of services could be cut if it ended.

The cap applies to more than 130 bus operators outside London.

It had been due to expire on 31 March, but has been extended until the end of June.

Bus operators have been struggling to maintain service levels in the face of rising costs and passenger numbers not recovering to pre-pandemic levels.

The cap was introduced partly as a cost of living measure but is also meant to encourage people back on to buses.  Up to 15% of services could have been scrapped without further funding, the Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents bus and coach firms, said earlier this month.

During the pandemic the government provided £2bn to support bus firms, who provide the most popular form of public transport in England.

It said the extension for bus fares would be backed by up to £75m in funding.