Following the Department for Transport’s announcement of the £2 bus fare cap scheme on 19 December 2022. From 1 January to 31 March 2023, a single bus journey will cost no more than £2 on selected routes across Surrey. The scheme is aimed at helping people to save money and use their cars less. With an average single local bus ticket costing £2.80, passengers are expected to save almost a third of the ticket price per journey.
As this cap applies to single fares, if you normally travel on more than one bus and buy a single ticket for each part of your journey, then you will still need to do that, but each ticket will cost no more than £2 for the duration of the scheme. If you normally jump on and off a few buses a day or week it’s likely that a dayrider or other longer-term ticket will still be the best value for you.
How will I know if this is available in my area?
For Ash, Stagecoach has stated that “You’ll be able to benefit from £2 fare capping in all areas that we run buses in England, outside London. However, there are some exclusions based on the type of bus route you may be using, please check your local service updates for more information.”
Operators taking part so far are
- Compass operating in Cranleigh, Dorking, Godalming, Guildford, Redhill and Reigate
- Stagecoach operating in Camberley, Farnham, Guildford, Haslemere, Hindhead, Woking
- Metrobus operating in Banstead, Caterham, Epsom, Horley, Leatherhead, Lingfield, Redhill and Reigate
- Falcon operating in Addlestone, Byfleet, Chertsey, Cobham, Epsom, Esher, Leatherhead, Molesey, Sheerwater, Staines, Walton, Weybridge and Woking
- Waverley Hoppa operating in Godalming and Guildford
- Thames Valley Bus operating in Camberley
- Surrey Connect (Mole Valley DDRT) operating in Leatherhead and Dorking
- East Surrey Rural Transport Partnership operating in Tandridge
- First operating in Staines and Egham
- Southdown operating in Caterham, Horley, Lingfield Oxted, Redhill and Reigate
Matthew Furniss, Cabinet Member for Transport, Infrastructure and Growth said:
We welcome this scheme which will help our residents to take the bus at a significantly reduced price, at a time when many are facing pressures from the rising cost of living.
The bus industry is also facing a challenging time, resulting from the drop in passenger numbers and rising costs following the COVID-19 pandemic, so we hope that this scheme will also encourage new and old passengers to get back on the bus.
We are currently investing £50m to improve bus services and grow patronage. This will see more zero-emission buses, more real-time passenger information and more measures to help buses run on time. When this £2 flat fare scheme ends, we will introduce a half fare scheme for young people aged 20 and under to further encourage bus usage.
With transport accounting for 41% of carbon emissions in Surrey, it is hoped that cheaper bus travel will also lessen the need to travel by car for some journeys.