Local MP Alan Mak has urged residents to take advantage of the Government's decision to extend the £2 bus fare cap until the end of 2024.
The measure was announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during his speech at the Conservative Party conference.
The £2 cap was originally due to run until 31 October and then rise to £2.50. But it will now remain at £2 until December next year as part of a Government package of transport investment across the country.
Mr Mak visited Havant Bus Station to show his support for the £2 fare cap to help people get out and about on public transport.
He took a ride on board the S21 service to Leigh Park and also met bus operator Stagecoach South's managing director Marc Reddy and Portsmouth operations manager Colin Ashcroft.
Stagecoach is among bus operators who have joined forces with the Government to promote the advantages of travelling by bus and the wide range of attractions that can be reached.
Mr Mak said: “I’ve successfully campaigned for the £2 bus fare cap to be extended to help local residents travel more cheaply. I encourage residents to use the discounted bus fares as much as possible to get out and about.”
Bus usage in Hampshire is at around 85 per cent of pre-Covid levels and lower still for concessionary bus pass holders, meaning many routes are becoming less viable to operate. By extending the £2 fare cap, the Government aims to encourage more people to use bus services and keep them running.
Meanwhile passengers across Hampshire will also benefit from improved reliability and better services as the Government delivers a further £17.2m to support local buses into 2025. Hampshire County Council is among 15 local authorities in the South East that will receive their second £17.2m allocation of the Bus Service Improvement Plan+ (BSIP+) for 2024-25. The county's share is £3,579,462.
The funding follows the first £228.9m BSIP+ and BSIP investments for the South East for 2022 through to early 2025, taking the total government support to help improve bus services in the region to more than £246m over three years. From introducing new services and enhancing existing ones in the weekends or evenings to making tickets cheaper through reduced fares for elderly or young people, local authorities can use the new BSIP+ allocations in several ways to improve bus services. They can also use the money to protect routes with low passenger numbers.
Picture: Alan Mak MP with Stagecoach South managing director Marc Reddy
