Bus fares are back at the top of the political agenda. On 22 July 2026, Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed that most single bus fares in England will be capped at £2 from 1 January 2027. It reverses the rise to £3 introduced in January 2025.
For anyone planning transport budgets, running services or supporting passengers, this matters. Fare policy shapes demand, funding and expectations. This article sets out where UK bus fares stand now, what the official data shows, and what the change means for councils, operators and passengers.
Key Takeaways
- A £2 cap returns from 1 January 2027. It replaces the £3 cap and runs throughout 2027, backed by £454 million of funding.
- Fares have risen far faster than inflation. The local bus fares index rose 15% in England outside London in the year to December 2025, against CPI of 3%.
- Rural areas feel it most. Non metropolitan fares rose 17% over the same period, and the government says some uncapped singles could reach £10.
- London sits outside the national cap. The single fare stays at £1.75 until 1 November 2026, when it is expected to rise to £1.85.
- Community transport is not covered. Dial a ride, DRT and home to school contracts sit outside the cap, so demand often shifts when public fares move.
What is happening to bus fares in the UK right now?
Right now, England outside London has a £3 cap on most adult single tickets. That cap was due to run until the end of March 2027. From 1 January 2027 it drops to £2, following the announcement made on 22 July 2026.
The picture is not uniform. Fare policy is devolved, so Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own rules. London has never been part of the national cap. Several mayoral areas already run lower caps funded locally, which is why headline UK bus fare figures vary so widely.
Three things shape what a passenger actually pays:
- The national cap. This applies to eligible adult singles with participating operators in England outside London.
- Local fare structures. Day, weekly and period tickets sit outside the cap and have kept rising.
- Concessionary entitlement. Around 28% of local bus journeys in England are made on a concessionary pass.
What did Andy Burnham announce about the bus fare cap?
Andy Burnham announced that most single bus fares in England will be capped at £2 from 1 January 2027, cutting the maximum by a third. The cap will run throughout 2027. He described affordable transport links as essential, saying no one should be priced out or left behind (ITV News).
The funding detail matters for anyone modelling budgets. The measure is backed by £454 million, which includes money to let devolved governments take similar action. Around £400 million comes from switching international climate finance investment to loans, with the balance from Department for Energy Security and Net Zero savings.
Total scheme cost is expected to exceed £500 million. The remainder comes from Department for Transport funding already allocated to buses. Chancellor John Healey said the measure is funded by savings made elsewhere. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said it would make everyday journeys easier and cheaper.
Government figures put the case in stark terms. Officials say the previous £2 cap generated around 30 million extra bus journeys over ten months. Without a new cap, they warn single fares could reach £10 on the most expensive routes, typically in rural and coastal areas (LBC).
This is familiar ground for the Prime Minister. As Mayor of Greater Manchester he introduced a £2 single fare in September 2022, then held it when the national cap rose to £3. Jason Prince of the Urban Transport Group welcomed the move as recognition of the value of the bus.
How much have UK bus fares risen in recent years?
Bus fare rises have consistently outpaced inflation. Department for Transport data shows the local bus fares index rose 15% in England outside London between December 2024 and December 2025. Over the same period the Consumer Price Index rose 3% (DfT quarterly bus fares statistics).
That single year change was driven largely by the £2 cap becoming a £3 cap. The regional breakdown for the year to December 2025 shows how unevenly bus prices UK wide have moved:
- London: no change
- English metropolitan areas: up 12%
- English non metropolitan areas: up 17%
- Scotland: up 8%
- Wales: up 9%
The longer trend is just as telling. In the year to March 2025, the fares index rose 7% across England while CPI rose 3%. Office for National Statistics data showed bus and coach fares up 9% on the Retail Price Index, against 6% for rail and broadly flat motoring costs.
Service levels have moved the other way. Bus mileage in England outside London has fallen 28% since 2005, according to the DfT annual bus statistics. Passengers have therefore faced a bus fare increase and fewer services at the same time.
What are bus prices UK wide, area by area?
There is no single UK bus fare. What a passenger pays depends on where they live, which operator runs the route and whether they hold a pass. The table below sets out the position as at July 2026.
| Area | Adult single | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| England outside London | Capped at £3 | Falls to £2 on 1 January 2027 for all of 2027 |
| London | £1.75 | Frozen until 1 November 2026, then expected to rise to £1.85 |
| Greater Manchester | £2 | Bee Network fares frozen throughout 2026, £5 daily cap |
| Scotland | Operator set | Free travel for under 22s, over 60s and eligible disabled people |
| Wales | Operator set | mytravelpass gives 16 to 21 year olds a third off fares |
London bus fares
People searching for the bus of London fare structure are usually looking for Transport for London. A single bus or tram journey costs £1.75, with the Hopper fare allowing unlimited journeys within an hour. The daily cap is £5.25 and the seven day Bus and Tram Pass is £24.70.
The Mayor of London extended the fare freeze to 1 November 2026. After that, the single fare is expected to rise 10p to £1.85, the daily cap to £5.55, and the seven day pass to £26.10. A Weekend Hopper offer runs from 25 July to the end of August 2026 (TfL).
Greater Manchester and other franchised areas
Greater Manchester holds a £2 single fare and a £5 daily cap through 2026, with a £20 weekly cap and tap in, tap out payment. From 1 March 2026, older and disabled pass holders gained round the clock free travel, ending the 9.30am restriction that had blocked early medical appointments.
More areas will follow. The Bus Services Act 2025 extends franchising powers to all local transport authorities in England and lifts the ban on council owned bus companies. Wales has gone further, with the Bus Services (Wales) Act 2026 bringing network planning into public control.
What is the impact of bus fare increases on passengers?
The impact of bus fare increases falls hardest on people with the fewest alternatives. National Travel Survey data shows people in the lowest income fifth made 66 local bus trips a year. Those in the highest income fifth made 29. Buses are not an optional extra for many households.
Car access matters even more. People in households without a car made 122 local bus trips a year, compared with 26 for those with car access. For these passengers, a fare rise is not a nudge towards another mode. It is a direct cut in mobility.
Older and disabled passengers show a worrying pattern. Adults with mobility difficulties made 33 local bus trips a year in 2024, down from 67 in 2008. Bus travel makes up a larger share of their overall trips, so lost services and higher fares compound existing barriers.
Value for money is already under strain. Transport Focus research found 73% of fare paying passengers were satisfied with the value of their ticket. That leaves more than a quarter who were not, even before the most recent round of increases worked through.
What the evidence says about capping fares
The Department for Transport commissioned Frontier Economics and SYSTRA to evaluate the original £2 cap. Reported findings included a patronage increase of around 5%, single ticket sales up 85%, and roughly 40% of survey respondents saying they saved money (CiTTi Magazine).
The economics were less clear cut. The benefit cost ratio was estimated at between 0.71 and 0.9 on monetised benefits alone. Adding wider social benefits, such as improved social mobility and affordability for lower income groups, moved the overall assessment into low value for money territory.
That tension explains much of the debate. A fare cap is a blunt instrument. It delivers visible savings and simplicity, but it does not on its own fix frequency, reliability or coverage. Both sides of that argument will be aired again ahead of January 2027.
Why do bus fares going up matter for councils and budget holders?
Bus fares going up or down changes the maths for local councils, central government and public sector budget holders. In the year ending March 2025, estimated total net support for local bus services in England was £3.0 billion. Of that, £0.8 billion covered concessionary travel.
Fare policy also shapes demand for other services. When commercial routes thin out or prices climb, pressure moves onto local authority supported services, community transport and non emergency patient transport. Those pressures rarely appear in the same budget line as the fare change that triggered them.
Practical implications worth planning for include:
- Concessionary reimbursement. Lower commercial fares can change how reimbursement is calculated for pass holder journeys.
- Supported route tenders. Cheaper singles may lift patronage on marginal routes, altering subsidy per passenger.
- SEND and home to school transport. Closed contracts sit outside the cap, so savings elsewhere will not offset rising contract costs.
- Staff travel schemes. HR and people teams running travel benefits should revisit assumptions for 2027.
- Funding cliff edges. The cap is funded for 2027 only, so 2028 planning needs a contingency.
What does the cap mean for community and accessible transport?
Official bus statistics exclude community transport, demand responsive transport and closed home to school contracts. That exclusion is easy to miss and important to understand. National fare policy does not set the price of a dial a ride trip or a volunteer car scheme journey.
Even so, the effects flow through. Many community transport schemes benchmark their fares against local bus prices. A cheaper public single fare can make a scheme look expensive by comparison, even when the service offers door to door support that no commercial route provides.
Demand patterns shift too. When public fares fall, some passengers with moderate mobility needs return to the bus. When services are withdrawn or fares climb, the same passengers come back. Schemes need to see that movement early rather than discovering it through a budget overspend.
Concessionary entitlement adds another layer. In England, pass holders travel free on local buses from 9.30am on weekdays and all day at weekends. Many community transport journeys fall outside that entitlement, which is why passengers sometimes pay for the accessible option and nothing for the standard one.
Good community transport software makes these patterns visible. Trip volumes, cancellation rates and repeat passenger data show demand moving before it becomes a financial problem. That evidence also supports funding conversations with local councils and central government.
How should transport teams prepare for January 2027?
There is roughly five months between now and the change. That is enough time to model scenarios properly rather than react in January. The work splits neatly between data, communications and contracts.
Review your own fare position
- Compare your current fares against the £2 benchmark that passengers will see from January.
- Check whether mileage based or booking fee models still make sense alongside a flat capped single.
- Identify journeys where your service is the only realistic option, since those are least price sensitive.
Model demand, not just price
- Track trip volumes month by month so you can see any shift after January 2027.
- Separate concessionary and fare paying journeys, because they respond differently.
- Watch vehicle utilisation, since falling demand on one route rarely reduces fixed costs.
Talk to passengers early
Passengers, carers and family members will hear about a £2 cap and reasonably assume it applies everywhere. Clear messaging avoids difficult conversations at the point of booking. Drivers and volunteers should know the answer too, since they are asked first.
The same applies to trustees, board members and charity chief executives. A fare change with national coverage will prompt questions about pricing at the next board meeting. Having the demand data and cost position ready turns that into a short agenda item.
Our earlier analysis of rising bus fares and rural service gaps covers the reliability side of this picture in more detail, including what happens when passengers lose confidence in a route.
Frequently asked questions about bus fares
How much are bus fares in the UK in 2026?
In England outside London, most adult singles are capped at £3 with participating operators. London charges £1.75. Greater Manchester holds a £2 single fare. Scotland and Wales have no national cap, so fares are set by operators, alongside generous concessionary schemes.
When will the £2 bus fare cap start?
The £2 cap applies from 1 January 2027 and runs throughout 2027. It replaces the £3 cap that was otherwise due to continue until the end of March 2027. Funding has been confirmed for 2027 only, so the position beyond that is not yet settled.
Why are bus fares going up when a cap exists?
The cap only covers eligible adult single tickets. Day tickets, weekly passes and period tickets sit outside it and have continued to rise. Operators also face higher wage, fuel and maintenance costs, which feed into every uncapped fare product.
How much is a bus of London single fare?
A single bus or tram journey in London costs £1.75, including unlimited transfers within one hour under the Hopper fare. The daily cap is £5.25. Fares are frozen until 1 November 2026, when the single is expected to rise to £1.85.
Does the fare cap apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
No. The cap applies in England outside London. Transport is devolved, so each nation sets its own approach. The £454 million funding package includes money to allow devolved governments to take similar action if they choose to do so.
Do concessionary pass holders benefit from the cap?
Not directly, since eligible pass holders already travel free. In England that means free off peak travel on local buses from state pension age. Around 28% of local bus journeys in England are made using a concessionary pass, so the cap affects the remaining majority.
Does the cap apply to community transport and dial a ride?
No. Community transport, demand responsive transport and closed home to school contracts sit outside national bus fare policy. Schemes set their own charges, often using a mileage rate or a flat single fare. Passengers should check directly with the scheme they use.
What happens next with UK bus fares?
The £2 cap is funded for 2027. Beyond that, the position depends on future spending decisions, so operators and councils should avoid treating it as permanent. The last cap ran for two years before rising, and the one before that started as a three month measure.
The bigger shift may be structural rather than financial. Franchising powers under the Bus Services Act 2025 give local councils real control over networks and fares. Over time, that could matter more for passengers than any single national cap.
For transport teams, the practical task stays the same. Understand your demand, know your costs and be able to explain your pricing clearly. Fare policy will keep changing. Good operational data is what lets you respond to it calmly.
Sources
- Department for Transport, Annual bus statistics: year ending March 2025 (revised)
- Department for Transport, Quarterly bus fares statistics: October to December 2025
- ITV News, Burnham announces £2 bus fare cap from January
- LBC, Single bus fares to be capped at £2 across England
- Transport for London, bus and tram fare freeze extended until 1 November 2026
- Bus Services Act 2025, legislation.gov.uk
- House of Commons Library, Concessionary bus travel
- CiTTi Magazine, reporting on the DfT evaluation of the £2 bus fare cap
Talk to Road XS about your transport data
Fare policy will keep moving. Road XS helps community transport schemes, DRT services, local councils and NHS transport teams see demand, costs and passenger patterns in one place, so pricing decisions rest on evidence rather than guesswork.
