Cap On Single Bus Fares Raised …

[naomi24]

.... from £2 to £3, Keir Starmer has announced.   Not a lot you might think but it's £10 plus per week extra for workers going to and from their jobs, not to mention the cost to those living in rural areas who have no choice but to use buses.   He's certainly looking after the 'working man'!

[sandyRoe]

I agree.

I once had a job where I needed two journeys by bus to get to work.  £20 a week just to get there and back if that was now.

[theshedman]

I think it was stupid for them to say working people would not see higher taxes.  Every other tax they put up will end up costing the working person more.  As you say a increase in the cap on bus fares will make getting to work more expensive for many that work in towns and all the other taxes that go up will affect them in some way.

[davebro3]

20 extra - 60 in total

[barry1010]

In my area an adult bus pass is £59 a month, roughly £20 a week.  So £2 each way for your working person example and travel evenings and weekends.   It is currently £700 for an annual pass - it will beat any price hike if you've got the money.

 

[Old_Geezer]

These days I dont see £3 as unreasonable for a bus ride, even if that is a whopping 50% rise at once. The main concern is probably the timing. Not what we need when already getting hit by other policies, or lack thereof.

[barry1010]

Good grief, I messed up my maths there - £15 a week, not £20, so much cheaper than the £2 per journey flat rate.

[youngmafbog]

Rather goes againts the "green" agenda too doesnt it.

All of the things labour does in its budget will affect the "working man"  (read Union members and Public sector) in reality.  I suspect inflation will be the big killer, but maybe, just maybe it wont be as bad as being made out?

[youngmafbog]

I suspect bus passes will rise too Barry.

[Deskdiary]

Back of a fag packet calculation, but let's say after holidays and weekends a full time worker works 245 days a year and catches one bus to work and another back. At the moment that's the thick end of £1,000. A 50% increase will increase the cost by the best part of £500. Without wishing to generalise, I'd say it's generally the lower paid that use a bus to get to and from work, so Starmer is going to clobber these "working people" by a whopping £500.

 

Truly a man of the people.

[barry1010]

young, that's why I said buying the annual bus pass today could avoid the price hike.  

[Khandro]

It's so good to see Sir Starmer really getting to grips with the nation's problems: raising the bus fares and taking the fuel allowance of the pensioners. 

A stroke of genius!

[New Judge]

Trouble is, barry that as (in your example) an annual pass costs seven hundred quid, many people simply cannot afford that outlay in one hit. Not many employers outside the public sector and even fewer outside the big commuter cities offer loans for their staff to buy annual passes.

[barry1010]

I did say - if you've got the money.  Some working people take the bus because they can't drive, not because they can't afford a car.  Some will never have a driving licence due to health conditions or visual impairment.

[youngmafbog]

By far the laergest number will be the poorer in society.

But Free Gear and Theives dont care.

[237SJ]

It was only brought in last year and was meant to last 3 months.  So it's only going back to what it was before

[naomi24]

But it was brought in for a reason - and extended for a reason.   They'll leave income tax alone but they'll scrape it back elsewhere.  

[chelle7272]

It was £2.50 before, at least in my area. This allows a huge increase in one go which will have a huge impact on income alonside all the other increases.

If it is absolutely necessary to increase it, it could at least have been in smaller increments as bus fares did previously.

[Canary42]

The desperation of the soundly-rejected Tories (authors of the cost of living crisis) to smear the current Government is amazing. 

[ladybirder]

Try and find someone to share a car with if possible. I remember 5 of us all in one car years ago when we worked where buses didn't operate. We payed the driver of course which might have covered the cost of the car.

Would have to have bought a bike if I had not had the above option.

[naomi24]

They're doing a good enough job of smearing themselves, canary.  They don't need help.