A new £2 bus fare rule is on the table from Andy Burnham if he wins the Makerfield byelection and succeeds Sir Keir Starmer as Labour Party Prime Minister. The Greater Manchester mayor has introduced the cap in his city region and now plans to roll out a similar scheme nationwide if he takes over from Starmer in No 10.
Low-cost transport vision
Mr Burnham said low-cost or free public transport was "a brilliant way to get people back to work and connect communities". The England-wide bus fare cap was previously set at £2, but Labour increased the level to £3 shortly after the last general election.
Background of the cap
The £2 single bus fare cap was introduced in Greater Manchester in 2022. Mr Burnham now wants to replicate it across the country. A source close to Mr Burnham told The Telegraph: "One of his proudest achievements as mayor was his intervention on buses."
Public transport costs
During an "ask me anything" session on Reddit at the end of last week, Mr Burnham was asked whether he would consider supporting free public transport for all. He responded: "In an ideal world, I would like to cut the cost of public transport as low as possible. I have made it free for 16-to-18-year-olds and recently removed the 9.30am restriction on older and disabled people's bus passes. I will try to keep the £2 capped bus fare for as long as I possibly can. Low-cost or free public transport is, in my view, a brilliant way to get people back to work and connect communities."
Broader public ownership stance
Burnham, Labour's candidate in the Makerfield byelection, has previously called for "greater public control" over companies. "Public ownership is absolutely an option," he said. "I would say for Thames Water, that is what should be done."
Water industry criticism
Burnham said: "If you look at the situation that we have here in the Makerfield constituency, people have recently experienced hefty hikes in their bills. The profits of the water company have almost doubled, if not doubled. If you look at water as an industry as a whole, it's run predominantly in the private interest rather than the public interest, or in other words, it's an industry where the shareholders can never lose and the bill payers never win."
Proposed measures
He has also proposed banning bill rises by cancelling the dividends of companies that raise bills over a certain level. Burnham said he would fund this by "running the industry differently", adding: "And you prevent the excessive profiteering out of water, which we've now seen over many years."
