The bus fare cap for Greater Manchester residents will remain at £2 until the end of 2025, regional mayor Andy Burnham has confirmed. This comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced yesterday (October 28) that the cap will be increasing from £2 to £3 in the wake of the upcoming budget. Running until the end of 2025, the increased cap will still mean savings of up to 80 per cent on some routes.
Mr Burnham said: “On January 5, 2025, we will proceed with our plan to introduce a new simpler, flatter fare structure based around a £2 single fare and, on March 23 2025, a contactless London-style payment system with a daily and weekly cap setting a maximum for what people pay when travelling on our buses and trams." He added: "Our policy aim throughout has been to create a low-fare, high-patronage system similar to the one that has brought higher growth and productivity to London. "This will remain the mission of the Bee Network.
" However, Mr Burnham did add the freezing of the £2 bus fare cap is subject to a mid-year 2025 review “We hope that the measures we are taking will continue the increase in patronage we have seen since the introduction of the original £2 cap in September 2022 and the launch of the Bee Network in September 2023. The more that people use the system, the easier it will be for us to sustain the low-fare structure. “This said, it is only by the middle of 2025 when we have completed Phase 1 of the Bee Network, and we know the level of government fu.