Commuters across England are set to reap substantial savings from a new bus fare cap, expected to come into effect on 1 January 2027. Prime Minister Andy Burnham's initiative aims to prevent people being "priced out" of affordable transport, with the scheme projected to save regular bus users hundreds of pounds annually.
For Sarah Bodger, a wool shop owner from Bedworth, Warwickshire, who makes a four-hour, two-bus journey each way six days a week to Leamington Spa, the change will be particularly significant. Currently spending £58 per week - over £3,000 annually – on her commute, Ms Bodger anticipates saving around £500 a year under the new cap. While she acknowledges that the long travel time is a trade-off for loving her work, the financial relief will make a "huge difference," she told the BBC.
Others are also set to benefit from the cap, including 24-year-old Charlie from Bristol, who believes it will encourage him to travel into the city centre more frequently on weekends. However, not everyone will be covered by the new scheme: Holly Haines, a resident of rural Hereford near the England-Wales border, pointed out that her bus service, operated by a Welsh company, is excluded from the cap – even though her journey is entirely in England.
The government's estimated £500 million funding for the new fare cap will come from "reprioritising" existing budgets. Specifically, £454 million will be reallocated from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESN), with some of these funds already set aside for buses by the Department for Transport. However, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride has questioned the transparency of this funding source.
This latest measure builds on a previous England-wide bus fare cap, which rose to £3 in January 2025 under Sir Keir Starmer's Labour government – although some city regions like Liverpool and Manchester have continued to maintain a lower £2 cap. The Campaign for Better Transport welcomed the reduction but warned that rural areas still face challenges, including fewer bus routes and services exacerbated by council cutbacks over the past decade.
For commuters like Seb Pelisse from Surrey, who primarily uses his car locally and travels to London by train, the bus fare cap will have limited personal financial impact. While acknowledging it as a "great measure for those not driving," he suggested that addressing "horrendously expensive" train fares would benefit an even wider demographic.