Bus travel across Liverpool city region will get cheaper from this autumn with single journey fares about to be capped at £2 in a policy costing £12m. Tony McDonough reports
Bus journeys across Liverpool city region will be capped at £2 for adult single fares from Sunday, September 18.
On Wednesday Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said the move would help people who are struggling with the cost of living crisis. He added some passengers will see a saving of up to 13% versus the current cost of their journey.
Plans are also under way to simplify the region’s often-confusing ticketing system. A new ‘tap and go system’ would allow for greater freedom and flexibility with passengers guaranteed to always pay the cheapest fare.
The cost of a MyTicket, which allows young people under the age of 19 to benefit from all day unlimited travel on the region’s bus network, will also remain frozen at £2.20 until 2025.
These new fares have been agreed with bus operators for an initial three-year period. It is being funded by the £12m Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP) allocation. This was secured by the Mayor and Combined Authority from Government.
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Mr Rotheram said: “More than 400,000 journeys are taken by bus in our region every single day. Far too often, people tell me that they’re still too expensive, too confusing and too unreliable.
“With the cost of living crisis placing more and more pressure on households, we’re using the power of devolution to bring the price of a single bus ticket down to its lowest level in years.
“This is just a down payment on my wider ambitions for our region’s buses. I’m working to take back control of our network, so that we can reinvest any profit we make back into our public transport system – putting passengers before profit.”
Earlier this year the Combined Authority voted to confirm franchising as the preferred model for running the network. This would reverse the industry’s deregulation in the mid-1980s.
Further investment is now being sought to help realise plans for the region’s bus network. Improvements local people have asked for include additional evening and weekend services, better integration with the wider transport network and more zero-emission hydrogen buses.
Aligned to the region’s Vision for Bus, this latest round of investment is a key part of Mayor Rotheram’s pledge to reform the region’s transport. He aims to build a London-style system that will make travelling around quicker, cheaper, greener and more reliable.