Bus passengers could be paying lower fares within months as Andy Burnham announces major revamp

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Bus passengers could be travelling across Greater Manchester for no more than £2 a journey or £5 for an entire day’s travel by the end of the summer. The new capped fares are part of a plan to fast-track major reform, offset the cost of living and entice people back to public transport.

The fare caps - which mark the biggest change passengers will have seen since deregulation in 1986 - also include a single journey fare capped at £1 for children. The streamlined prices, a key component of Mayor Andy Burnham’s transformation of the bus network, will be launched in September, brought forward from Autumn 2023.

And whereas the initial plan was for a gradual roll-out across the conurbation, passengers across the whole of Greater Manchester will now benefit at the same time. The plan is reliant on co-operation from bus operators and the Government but means passengers could finally be freed from a ‘fragmented’ system involving more than 830 services run by 30 operators with 150 different ticket types.

READ MORE: Green light for bus reform: What does it mean for passengers?

The £5 fare will enable passengers to travel from when they buy the ticket until 3.59am the following day, across different operators. This compares to the current daily fare of £6.40. However, the maximum £2 for a single journey fare will only work for a single operator, with the London-style ‘Hopper’ fare currently on hold. It does mean, however, that passengers will no longer have to fork out, for example, £4.50 for a trip between Manchester and Middleton. If a ticket is usually less than £2, passengers will still pay that price.

Mayor Andy Burnham told the Manchester Evening News : “The decision to bring forward the new lower flat fares for Greater