Bus price caps introduced across Devon and Cornwall
Roads Minister Richard Holden wants to encourage people to get back on buses
A new cap on bus ticket prices on services across Devon and Cornwall is hoped to encourage locals to use the bus service amidst the cost of living crisis.
130 bus services across England are capping fares on certain single journeys at £2. Among those taking parts are South West Coaches, First South West and Dartline.
However as it is voluntary, not every bus service is acknowledging the pay cap, so do check before you travel.
Plymouth Citybus are taking part, but are increasing prices across season tickets and products on their network.
From April single and return tickets will rise in line with inflation.
The fair cap was made possible by a £60 million subsidy by The Department for Transport, who said it would save almost a third of the ticket price for the average journey and cut emissions and congestions by taking an estimated 2 million cars off of the roads.
"We 've seen a real decline in bus usage over the pandemic"
Roads Minister Richard Holden has said that he hopes it will encourage more people to use the bus:
"We've seen a decline of bus usage over the pandemic. We're on about 80-85% of revenue from paid passengers at the moment, so I want to see this increase, I want to see it back to pre-pandemic levels. This scheme allows us to do that."
"I'm sure it will be popular with passengers"
Similarly, Nigel Feetham, who is the managing director at one of the bus companies involved, can see how the price cap will benefit many areas of society.
"We hope with more people using the bus it will free up traffic on the roads, help people get into town and shopping. Of course the money they do save on bus fairs will be directed elsewhere in the economy so hopefully a win all around for everybody.
"It is environmentally friendly, there's no hassle parking, it's a very straightforward way to travel; gets to the hearts of town centres," he continues. "We think people who try it will really like it, and of course the standard of buses is much better.
"I think every penny helps and it will be popular with passengers. It will encourage people to try buses, and we hope that some people stick with it as their mode of transport in the future. "