Reduce the price of the bus

[Rebecca34566]

Hi all,

The cost of bus travel in the UK is too high.

The national fare cap is £3, which means that people doing a 1-5 mile journey are paying £6 return

This directly impacts parents doing the school run, commuters to work and parents on parental leave looking for day trips. It increases the use of private cars which affects the environment and traffic.

Please sign this petition to reduce bus costs and get Britain moving again!

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/737995

For a short journey in Reading it costs £1.70. However, Reading buses are Council owned.

People on benefits don't automatically get free bus travel.

Depends if it's a safe route. Some roads don't have pavements/footpaths so wouldn't be safe to walk, especially in Winter when it's dark!

Precisely!!!!

It's also not accurate that's the cap. I'm in the south east not tfl and sometimes get the bus to work it's £1.20 single £1.50 return. Also a return is rarely £6 two singles will be if the journey is a long one

I agree that prices are too high. It's always been much cheaper for us to run a car. Current school bus passes are I think £925 a year. When all 3 of my kids were at school there was no way we could afford this so I drove them all. Before the cap, it cost my sixth former £5.60 a day to get home from school on the days I couldn't pick him up. Cycling wasn't possible. We are now only about 6 miles from town but would never catch the bus because the car and parking is so much cheaper, and unless going to the town centre we'd have to catch multiple buses. Or they don't go where you need them, so you have to run a car anyway. I just checked, and the 10 minute drive to take my daughter to her best friends house would take 1hr 10 mins by bus and cost £6 each way (2 buses). My eldest who now live in cities (uni) use public transport all the time because it's easy, regular and affordable. We are barely even rural and it's just not practical or affordable to use public transport.

Yes, it is the national cap. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/national-bus-fare-cap

Thoses prices are for your council, yet another example that some local councils/bus companies don’t charge the full amount. Thus the petition to try and make it fair and equal to all.

My borough is indeed £3 for a single of a journey of around a mile.

please avoid accusing people of not being truthful. That is not ok.

It's a CAP the maximum, not every bus fare is £3

Often it’s cheaper to get a bus pass or a day ticket than 2 singles.
It’s difficult for operators to find a balance. Even regions where franchising is coming can’t guarantee that fares will be cheaper.
The only way to reduce fares is for government to fund them but I can’t see that funding increasing any time soon.

Often it’s cheaper to get a bus pass or a day ticket than 2 singles.
It’s difficult for operators to find a balance. Even regions where franchising is coming can’t guarantee that fares will be cheaper.
The only way to reduce fares is for government to fund them but I can’t see that funding increasing any time soon.

The bus fare cap is in England, not UK wide. I can’t get on board (pun intended) with something that starts off incorrectly.

So glad I like in Edinburgh I can travel on one bus for £2.20 whether I travel 1 mile or 13 miles. If you need to get more than 2 buses than it’s £5 odds for unlimited bus travel. I have a monthly bus pass that costs £68 and I can’t travel on multiple buses a day and the tram. Children and young people get free travel (not a fan of this but shrug) and so do OAPs.

I agree with you OP. If me and my husband want to take the kids to a park nearby us (too far for toddler to walk) it’s £12 return on the bus. Or we can park for £4. It doesn’t encourage people to leave cars at home.

Public transport is a "common good"
Sane countries invest in public transport
and where absolutely needed spend on roads

Where the normal bus comes every ten minutes 7 days a week, 18 hours a day
there is no need for school buses
the elderly can get to the doctor and the shops from their homes
parents do not need to drive children around
tourist cars do not clog up spaces
workers do not need parking in two places
bars and hotels prosper as customers are not driving

other than that ....

Public Transport is expensive in the UK. Whichever way you look at it, it's the way it is. Trains are very expensive. Parking is ridiculously expensive also (especially in cities and near train stations).
No point petitioning anyone. Someone has to pay to run the service. I don't want to pay for buses via government funding from my taxes or through my council tax. I pay for the bus if I use the bus. Why can't we make trains cheaper? I use the train service regularly mostly for work, let the government subsidise that.
We would just end up paying each other travel at this rate.

Don't ever come to Southern Ireland and use a bus then you'll see real expensive buses lol

@Branster
You need to go to Vienna.
It is the least car friendly city in the world.
but the public transport is wonderful.
Your taxes are then paying for clean air, clear roads, good access for all

Because their taxes are used wisely or they simply do things better in general over there.
I remember years ago parking in central Milan was beyond exorbitant but I didn't know how to find a different car park so that was probably my fault. I did go there since but never used a car again.
They really are trying to persuade people not to use cars in the UK but the alternatives don't work very well.
In general large cities are easier to navigate by public transport but London, as an example, is expensive. Getting to London by public transport is even more expensive. This is just one example.

You are making the point of the petition!! Some bus companies rely on the cap, so short journeys being charged at £3.

The petition is to change that where it is a short journey, to limit at £1.75, so to help passengers where bus companies set to the cap.

I live in Midlands approx 15 miles from nearest City centre.

We have some park and ride which are £6 for a group of up to 5.
Also group travel, all day between £9 and £13 depending on area. 2 adults and up to 3 smalls.

For visiting city centre definitely better value than parking and petrol, but we rarely, once a year or less, do this trip.

More local travel it's the £9 daily limit (after an rush hour) or £18 group of 5 for all day on extensive routes. Cross companies/train/tram is more tricky but there are some deals.

Absolutely though, I think under 17s should be heavily subsidised, maybe £1 a day, valid across all services.

I know there are some disabled benefit schemes, these should also be encouraged.

I should use the bus more, but the car is so easy.

GOOD public transport is used on a season ticket basis
not per trip

In Vienna, most people buy the annual unlimited pass for E.365
yes, one Euro per day, unlimited usage of all public transport

some people use it every day,
others only once a week
but the point is that everybody defaults to public transport knowing it has been 'prepaid'

When we went to visit the cost was E.15 for 5 days unlimited
still an utter bargain

That way the buses can run every ten minutes 20 hours a day
and everybody will use them rather than even thinking about starting the car