Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people can travel affordably on bus services.

The Government recognises the importance of affordable public transport. While decisions on the level of fares are for commercial operators, the Government recognised in the National Bus Strategy the need to make bus services cheaper.

The Government is providing £60 million to help bus operators cap single fares at £2 on services in England outside London from 1 January to 31 March 2023. On 17 February, we announced up to £75 million to extend the £2 bus fare cap for another three months until 30 June 2023.

The Government is also providing over £1 billion to 34 local transport authorities, including combined authorities, to support the delivery of their Bus Service Improvement Plans to make bus services cheaper, better and more accessible.