Why the Government is wrong to put up the bus fare cap from £2 to £3 - Paul Morozzo
Buses are important. After cars they are by far the most used form of transport - being particularly important for people on low incomes. They don't get as much attention as trains but even in their current woeful state buses are an essential and far-reaching part of the public transport network.
Before complaining, it's important to acknowledge that Labour have done some good things on buses already. The buses bill will grant all local transport authorities the ability to manage and operate their own bus services giving the rest of country the chance to operate buses in a similar way to TfL in London, where bus use is significantly higher.
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Hide AdBut hiking bus fares whilst maintaining the fuel duty levy, which keeps the cost of diesel and petrol down, shows a lack of joined up thinking about how the government’s growth mission could be delivered by simple measures that seem like spending but are in fact in the medium-term investment for climate-friendly growth.


UK cities tend to have lower incomes per person than cities of equivalent size in Western Europe. This is because European cities, in part, tend to have much better public transport (bus and tram networks) than UK cities. A well-used reliable bus and tram network helps with the process of economic agglomeration boosting the growth of urban areas.
Of course, you can in theory raise fares and improve bus services but higher fares mean less people using buses. Reduced demand means less political pressure to improve services, thus creating a potential doom loop. And reduced mobility has a negative impact on the economy, because if people can't afford to travel it restricts access to training and work, shrinking economic activity.
On the other side of the equation, encouraging car use also has negative economic impacts due to congestion - which is reduced mobility in a different form.
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Hide AdIf the government is serious about its growth mission, an expanded and cheaper bus network must be a central component.
However, it's not just about Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves’ growth mission, bus travel could be an important factor for two of their other five missions.
Firstly, their mission to decarbonise the UK. Bus travel is obviously much better for reducing climate-wrecking carbon emissions than car travel. Given that people will be able to buy a new car with a petrol engine up until 2035, we need both a switch to electric vehicles and a reduction in the distance travelled by cars of at least 10 per cent to stand any chance of decarbonising transport at the speed in which we need to. A much-expanded public transport network, with buses playing a crucial role, is critical to getting people out of cars. The cheaper that transport is, the easier that will be.
Finally, given that buses are a lifeline to people on lower incomes and people who can't drive, keeping bus fares low and expanding provision is important for the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity.
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Hide AdIf you want to increase incomes from transport, tax frequent flyers and the people polluting the planet by using private jets, not low-income people struggling to get around in ways that have minimal impact.
Paul Morozzo is Greenpeace UK’s senior transport campaigner.
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