The £2 bus fare cap is rumoured to be scrapped in the budget
More than 60,000 people have signed a petition calling for the £2 cap on bus fares in England to be maintained. The petition comes as the chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce the scrapping of the cap on Wednesday in her first budget since Labour entered government.
Introduced under the Tories, the £2 bus cap is currently set to remain in place until 31 December 2024. However, there has been extensive reporting suggesting Reeves is likely to refuse to extend the scheme when she announces her budget this week.
The petition – hosted by the campaign group 38 Degrees – says: “Over the last 18 months, millions of us have been able to travel by bus for just £2 thanks to funding aimed at supporting people with the cost of living. It’s been a lifeline to people who rely on buses to get about, and those of us who want to use more public transport to help the environment.
“Now though, it looks like the cap could be scrapped by the Chancellor in this month’s budget as the Government scrambles to come up with a way to fill the black hole in the country’s finances. Ditching the bus fare cap could see fares rise by £10 or more.”
Opposition parties and high profile public figures are also among those calling for the cap to be extended.
Paul Kohler, the Lib Dem transport spokesperson, said: “The Chancellor must continue the £2 cap to ensure those who rely on bus services are not burdened with more expense during the cost of living crisis.”
Meanwhile, the comedian Jason Manford tweeted: “I also don’t agree with scrapping £2 cap on bus fares. Working people need to get to work, nobody chooses the bus, generally you’re on a bus cos you have to be! Let’s not punish people further for simply getting to work!”
At the time of writing, 60,199 people had signed the petition. 38 Degrees has said it will deliver the petition to Reeves when it reaches 100,000 signatures.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
Image credit: Keir Starmer – Creative Commons
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