Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the £2 bus fare cap on bus usage in (a) Reigate and Banstead Borough and (b) Surrey since its introduction.

The £2 fare cap was launched by the Department for Transport (DfT) on 1 January 2023 and is set to remain in place until the end of December 2024.

The DfT published an interim report 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.

Patronage in Surrey appears to be continuing to recover following the COVID-19 pandemic. DfT does not collect patronage data lower than local transport authority level and is unable to make an assessment of bus usage for Reigate and Banstead Borough.