The “Get Around For £2” bus fare cap has been extended to the end of 2024, and an additional £1,153,000 allocated to City of York Council to improve bus services for the next financial year, as part of the new Network North plan. This builds on £17,360,000 of Department for Transport funding that was already allocated to support bus services in York between 2022-25.
This is the first round of a £1 billion investment into bus services across the North and Midlands through Network North, which reinvests HS2 funding into local and regional transport projects that matter most to people, benefitting more people, in more places, more quickly.
Options for the council will include more regular and reliable services, including the reintroduction of evening services, introducing new routes to link up previously unconnected areas, cheaper fares through fare initiatives, and ticket price caps.
Since 2020, the Government has invested over £3.5 billion into bus services to support recovery from the pandemic. The popular £2 cap was due to rise to £2.50 from the end of the month and then be reviewed in November next year, but will now remain at £2 until 31 December 2024.
Since the cap was introduced across the UK at the beginning of this year, bus fares in England, outside London, have fallen by 7.4 per cent, with savings even larger in rural areas where fares have dropped by almost 11 per cent.
