Andy Burnham has said single bus fares in Greater Manchester will continue to cost £2 for the whole of 2025 despite the maximum that can be charged across England rising to £3.
The region’s mayor said he was able to cap single fares at £2 because of steps he took to regulate the system and bring buses back into public ownership from last year.
In a lengthy intervention, Mr Burnham said from 5 January, “we will proceed with our plan to introduce a new simpler, flatter fare structure based around a £2 single fare”.
He also confirmed plans to introduce a contactless payment system, with a daily and weekly cap on prices, as Greater Manchester moves towards a London-style system for public transport pricing.
However, Mr Burnham added that the £2 cap would be subject to a review.
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In the capital, Transport for London (TfL) has its own fare caps, so the increased cap will not apply.
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Bus fares have been capped at £2 on more than 4,600 routes in England since 1 January 2023, but the government has said that from next year the cap will rise to £3.
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Under devolution, local authorities and metro mayors can also fund their own schemes to keep fares down, as has been the case in Greater Manchester, London and West Yorkshire.
Sir Keir Starmer made the announcement on Monday while delivering a pre-budget speech that warned of looming tax rises to fill the £22bn black hole in the public finances the government claims was left by the previous Tory administration.
The prime minister is coming under increasing criticism for his decision, which opponents have branded a “bus tax” and a “tax on working people”.
The prime minister defended the decision on the grounds that the previous government only funded the current limit to the end of 2024 “and therefore that is the end of the funding in relation to a £2 capped fare”.
The government has also claimed that despite the cap increasing, the cost of bus travel will be kept down in the long term and there could be savings of up to 80% on some routes.
It said that fares were due to soar by as much as £13 on one route after the funding agreement by the Tories had expired at the end of 2024.
In a statement on X, Mr Burnham said: “Our policy aim throughout has been to create a low-fare, high-patronage system similar to the one that has brought higher growth and productivity to London.
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“Because of the decisions we have taken, and the progress we have made, GM is in a different position to other areas across England when it comes to bus funding and bus fares.
“Greater Manchester was the first to propose the £2 cap in March 2022, introducing it in September that year ahead of the national £2 scheme, and we will keep it as long as we can.”
The Department for Transport (DfT) said maintaining the £3 cap until the end of 2025 would cost £151m, while the government was also providing £925m for local authorities and bus service operators to improve routes.
