Andy Burnham has made a fast start to life in Downing Street, with a few swift household bill cuts announced already. The new Prime Minister confirmed that bus fares will be capped at £2 from January, reversing Keir Starmer’s decision to increase the fare cap to £3 in 2025.
Burnham introduced his own £2 cap in Manchester back in September 2022, so surely it was only a matter of time before the rule was reintroduced nationally. It’s a big positive promise for transport and a policy that is expected to cost more than £500million to deliver.
However, just how many people are going to take advantage of the scheme? The data points to not many at all. Previous Government analysis shows that just 22% of households do not have a car, which means that almost four-fifths of the UK have at least one vehicle on their drive. The data shows that 34% of households actually have two or more cars on their driveways.
Stats also show that just 19.8% of the population travel to work in something other than a car or van, with just 4.2% nationally using a bus, minibus or coach.
In comparison, previous YouGov research shows that just 21% never use trains, with 14% using them every week and a further 14% every month. Would this be a better use of the cash later down the line? Quite possibly.
In one of her best moves as Chancellor, Rachel Reeves introduced a rail fare freeze to ensure prices didn’t rise by a crippling 5.8% in April. According to officials, the new freeze is expected to save existing rail passengers £600 million in 2026/27. That would be around £300 per year for the average commuter. An absolutely staggering saving.
Mr Burnham needs to make sure he leaves enough cash in the coffers to extend the freeze next April for the 2027/28 tax year. Rail fares are already high enough, and we can’t afford for them to go up any more.
Officials have previously warned that transport costs make up 14% of household spending. This is way too high. Commuters are feeling the bite, and they need support.
Rail season tickets for routes heading into major cities like London are eye-watering, with some commuters now paying well over £10,000 per year. It makes working from the home desk less of a luxury and more of a financial necessity for some.