£3 busfares will ruin me

[Deportationsensation]

Busfare cap to increase to £3. That’s £6 a day for buses. £10 extra a week.

My food budget for 1 person is £10 a week. So that’s my food money gone to pay for buses.

I can’t work more hours. I do what I can in working part time because I have health issues that would not qualify for PIP but affect me every day. Not qualifying for any benefits other than probably food bank use. Which I will now have to do.

AIBU to just start wondering what is the point? Life isn’t supposed to be like this. Some of us are just trying to survive with no enjoyment in life at all.

I'm so sorry OP, this is an awful policy that is going to negatively impact so many of the people who can least afford to take it.

I do echo what others have said that there is surely some sort of benefit that you'd be eligible for? Would it help you to type out all your outgoings and then your existing wages/benefits? Posters on here are often very good at spotting savings.

You're maybe not trying to be cruel but......

But in reality, no-one should be so short that they only have £10 a week for food as their wages should cover their basic living costs or they'd be entitled to benefits if they're unable to work full time or have caring responsibilities. But without further information, no-one can help the OP and I can agree with previous PPs who say that she needs to see what constructive help she can access, rather than just coming on here for a moan.

OP if you have debts, you shouldn't be going without food to pay them.

Exactly.

Get a debt relief order for help with debts if they’re so bad you can’t afford food..

Definitely worth checking bus passes and even just returns, where I am a return is £4.35

Well then obviously you were able to work extra hours despite your conditon so it wasn't affecting you to the point that you couldn't, notwithstanding it was difficult.

Op is stating she can't. You can choose to argue with her but I tend to believe people when they describe their health struggles.

You do not have the monopoly on experience of long term illness and perhaps it would help you to understand that not everyone's experience is the same or even similar to yours.

Last week you had fake eyelashes and hair extensions. Maybe use your beauty budget for bus fares?

Increase in bus fare sick will affect a lot of people The conservatives brought in the lower fare and it was a great idea

Are you claiming everything you're entitled to? Why is your spare money that little, do you have debts that need looking at or other financial commitments? It seems a very low amount to have spare.

I don't think that's fair. You don't know what issues they have.

Obvious question, but have you checked if a weekly ticket would save you money?

The cap being lifted does not necessarily mean that the cost of every journey will increase to £3. I'm sure it will for longer bus journeys but might not if your journey is relatively short (I hope!)

All the posters mentioning bus passes are missing that they are paid for in advance.
I would ask CAB to help you apply for PIP, because some councils award a disabled bus pass on either rate
Check carefully if you are entitled to UC

How did you pay your bus fares before the cap was introduced?

Can your employer help? Often they will give loans for travel passes, which always work out cheaper.

I note the post above about eyelashes etc., though. I hope you are being genuine.

Does anyone know what Rachel actually said about people trying to buy their homes if you live in Social housing I didn't get it Angela bought hers she could give back the money she made maybe I'm sure she's ok financially what with the freebies and MPs perks

Yes, how do you afford your hair extensions OP?

Just checking you don't live in Manchester where bus fares aren't increasing from the current £2?

Agree with others, you need to check that you are claiming everything you are entitled to. If your entire food budget for 1 person is £10 per week and a £3 bus fare would ruin you then either you’re not claiming UC that you will be entitled to, or you have a decent income but huge debt payments. Either way there is help, either by claiming UC/PIP or by getting help with the debt for example DMP.

Also definitely look at bus pass prices, I know my MIL was paying £4 for 2 singles a day so £20 a week, when she looked she realised a week pass came to £17 so cheaper and a monthly pass was £63 so even cheaper again.

not exactly relevant is it.

Maybe start a new thread? this is about bus fares.

Fares used to be over £3 before there was any cap at all.

Paid about £7 once to go into my local town, ten years ago. The cap was £2, now it's £3. It doesn't mean the fare will be £3. There has to be a balance between what is affordable and bus services being cut as they are no longer economical to run.

What relevance does that have to this thread?

£10 a week for food for one person seems like the biggest issue here. I strongly urge you to speak to Citizens Advice or similar to see whether there are benefits you can claim or - if you have debt - what measures can be taken to sort that.

In terms of the bus fare: it's a cap. That's the maximum a company can charge for a single. They are free to charge less and some routes will remain £2 or less - just as they were before the current cap came in. Regardless, in many instances, a bus pass, a return or a multi-journey ticket may be cheaper than buying a single every time. The cap is there to stop companies charging huge amounts in areas where there's no competition. Additionally, I think every company I've worked for has offered season ticket loans for bus and train so you employer may be able to help with the upfront cost of a pass. But again, speak to Citizens Advice or similar; you may be entitled to a discount card.