Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a new £2 cap on single bus fares across England, effective from January 2027, backed by £454 million in government funding.
The policy, which reverses a fare increase introduced by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves in 2024, will replace the existing £3 nationwide cap currently scheduled to run until the end of March 2027. Approximately £400 million of the funding will be sourced by converting international climate finance investments into loans.
Burnham told his cabinet on Tuesday that they would be a "cost of living government," adding that every minute not spent discussing the issue was "wasted." The fare reduction forms part of a broader push to position the administration around household affordability.