Cheaper bus travel for millions as fares capped at £2
By William Fletcher MBE, Chief Executive Officer, New Reg Limited
Bus single fares in England outside London will be capped at £2 from 1 January 2027, replacing the current £3 cap, backed by £400 million of government funding.
Bus fares in England outside London will be capped at £2 for a single ticket from 1 January 2027, the government has confirmed. The lower cap replaces the current £3 limit, which runs until 31 March 2027, and is backed by £400 million of funding to keep everyday travel affordable through 2027.
The £2 single fare is about a third lower than the current cap. The government points to around 30 million extra journeys taken during the previous £2 scheme as evidence that lower fares get more people onto buses.
The cap applies to single fares on participating bus services in England outside London, where fares are set separately. For regular passengers, capping the price of a single journey makes weekly travel costs easier to predict, which matters most in areas where the bus is the main link to work, school and local services.
Lower and more predictable fares also give people who currently drive a clearer reason to consider the bus for shorter trips, which can ease congestion and running costs. The cap is one part of a wider effort to make public transport cheaper and simpler to use across the country.
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