Bus services facing ‘cliff edge’, transport boss warns

Bus services in England’s largest county are facing a “cliff edge” as the government’s £2 cap on bus fares is set to expire, leaving passengers paying up to 600 per cent more on some routes, a transport chief has warned.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for transport, Councillor Keane Duncan, issued the stark warning at a meeting of the authority. He said the grant scheme introduced in January 2023 had provided “critical support” to the county’s routes, with passenger numbers up 11 per cent last year.

The warning follows a pledge by recently elected Mayor of York and North Yorkshire David Skaith to “create a transport system that works for everyone” in a region that has seen some of the biggest cuts to bus services in the country since austerity.

The temporary initiative, which ends on December 31, is estimated to have cost the government around £600 million over the two-year period.

Critics of the plan say price caps could harm competition, weaken the relationship between costs, rates and value, stifle innovation, reduce commercial returns and financial sustainability, and hamper effective marketing. But others say it has provided a lifeline for services outside urban areas, many of which were at risk.

Transport bosses say the fare cap was a “major factor” in Yorkshire Coastliner’s decision not to withdraw route 840 from Leeds to Whitby, once voted the UK’s most scenic route.

Yorkshire Dales transport campaigner Ruth Annison said the £2 fare cap would be a boon to the economy and efforts to cut carbon emissions in an area where services are spotty.

She said: “People need to be able to move around without cars, especially in the national park.”

Helen Gundry, managing director of North Yorkshire bus operator Moorsbus, said the fare cap had “encouraged people to think that bus travel is affordable”.

She said: “For the rural areas we serve, it makes a huge difference to commercial services on weekdays, because otherwise they are so expensive.”

Councillor Duncan called for answers over an exit strategy for the £2 fare cap and said that while the Labour government had indicated it intended to legislate for a Better Buses Bill, there had been “a deafening silence” over the subsidy.

He added: “I think this authority, operators and passengers in the region would find it very helpful if the Mayor could provide clarity about his intentions.

“The £2 fare cap has been a lifeline for services teetering on the edge of survival. There are now real fears of a cliff edge when the programme ends in December.

“Some routes in our county could see a 600 percent rate increase. Services here could once again find themselves in financial difficulty and back in the perilous financial situation that we have worked so hard to overcome.”

Councillor Duncan said it was “virtually impossible to get any indication of the mayor’s plans or even have a conversation”.

He added: “Given the uncertain situation, I would like to see the £2 fare cap remain in place, rather than being abruptly ended, which could have a devastating impact on routes like Scarborough to Leeds, which cost £15. It could put people off using buses at a time when we want to do everything we can to encourage them.”

When asked if he was concerned about the implications of removing the £2 cap and what action he planned to take, Mr Skaith declined to give a direct answer.

He said his ambition had always been to create efficient, affordable public transport services that connect people in rural, coastal and urban areas across the region.

Mr Skaith said: “I believe that the continuity of the existing bus services provided by City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council is the best solution at this time. I look forward to constructive discussions with transport leaders at both authorities on subsidised fares, integrated ticketing and franchising.