Conservative party manifesto pledges to continue £2 bus fare cap
20 June 2024

The £2 maximum single bus fare cap was first introduced in January 2023, initially for 3 months, then extended a number of times, most recently until the end of 2024. With the election having been called, there has been uncertainty over what would happen to this government subsidy for fares beyond the end of the year.

I was delighted to see that the Conservative manifesto includes a pledge to extend the £2 cap through the whole of the next parliament. See extract from manifesto below. As the bookies currently have the Conservatives as 40 to 1 against winning the election, there is little chance of them being able to be held to account for this promise. However, it does lay down a marker for the other parties, in particular Labour who are a racing certainty to form the next government.

I would suggest that everyone who encounters a Labour candidate during this election period asks them to promise that their government will match this pledge as and when they come into power.