Prime Minister Andy Burnham has confirmed that single bus fares across England, outside London, will be capped at £2 from January 2027. The cap will run for the whole of 2027, replacing the current £3 national cap and cutting the maximum fare on participating services by up to a third.
Announcement at Labour Conference
The announcement was originally made in July and was reaffirmed by Burnham during his keynote speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool today. The Government says the measure is intended to make everyday bus journeys more affordable and help passengers facing higher living costs.
Under the new arrangement, passengers using participating bus services in England outside London will pay no more than £2 for a single journey from January 1, 2027, through to December 31, 2027. The existing £3 cap will remain in place until the end of 2026, meaning the new policy will reduce the maximum capped fare by £1.
Funding and support
The Government has allocated more than £454 million to support the scheme. Ministers say the funding will help deliver cheaper journeys for millions of passengers across the country. The policy is intended to support people making everyday journeys by bus, including travel to work, education, healthcare and leisure.
The new fare cap builds on Burnham’s experience as mayor of Greater Manchester, where a £2 single-fare limit has been used as part of the Bee Network. The government says the policy will particularly benefit passengers in rural and coastal areas, where some single bus fares can otherwise be significantly higher.
Additional changes to bus travel
The £2 cap will be introduced alongside other changes to bus travel. From April 2027, eligible disabled passengers will be able to use their free bus passes at any time of day, following the removal of weekday time restrictions.
For passengers, the central change from January is straightforward: on participating services outside London, a single bus journey will be capped at £2 throughout 2027. The government says the measure is designed to keep bus travel affordable while supporting wider improvements to local bus services across England.
