Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 459 on Bus Services: Concessions, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of ending the Get around for £2 bus fare scheme this year on levels of (a) national and (b) regional bus use, broken down by bus operator.

The Department for Transport published an interim report on the £2 fare cap in September 2023 setting out emerging trends in key outcomes from the first two months of the scheme. It is available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-2-bus-fare-cap/2-bus-fare-cap-evaluation-interim-report-february-2023.

Bus patronage appears to be continuing to recover following the COVID-19 pandemic, and people making additional bus trips with the £2 bus fare cap in place are likely to be existing bus users and make a small number of additional trips.

DfT is considering the overall value for money of the £2 fare cap as part of our ongoing evaluation, which will continue over the coming months and provide richer conclusions on its effects and people’s attitudes.