Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham confirms price slash on bus travel across Liverpool City Region

Bus passengers will be able to travel across the Liverpool City Region for no more than £2 announces Mayor Steve Rotheram today.

The new single adult fare, which is part of the Mayor’s wider plans to revolutionise the public transport system, has been ratified by the Combined Authority at its meeting earlier today.

This means that some passengers would see a saving of up to 13% in the cost of a single journey regardless of which service they use, taking away the hassle and confusion of the region’s complex ticketing system.

Young people will also continue to benefit from all day unlimited travel for just £2.20 by capping MyTicket until 2025.

Plans are also in the works to simplify the region’s wider ticketing system under a ‘tap and go system’ that would allow for greater freedom and flexibility with passengers guaranteed to always pay the cheapest fare.

Earlier this year the Liverpool City Region took an important step towards the major reform of its buses after local leaders voted to confirm franchising as the preferred model for running the network – a landmark move that would reverse the industry’s deregulation in the mid-1980s.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

“Today marks another massive step on our journey to revolutionise our region’s buses. Hundreds of thousands of people rely on buses to get about every day, yet too often they tell me that they are still too expensive, too unreliable and too confusing – I want to put that right.

“We’ve listened to people’s concerns and have responded with direct action that will help ease the financial burden – especially during the cost-of-living crisis – by making it cheaper to travel on our bus network. This is just a down payment on my wider ambitions, though. I’m fighting to win London-style funding that will allow us to build a public transport network that is better connected, faster, and cleaner. If it’s good enough for the capital, then it’s the least that we should expect.”

The new fare is subject to agreement with the bus operators and for an initial three-year period.

Subject to confirmation, the £12m Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP) allocation will be used to fund these measures which are designed to encourage more people to use the bus by helping them travel further for less as well as helping the environment.

However, it is only the start as more funding is needed to realise the ambition set out in the BSIP and deliver the bus services that local people have asked for including additional evening and weekend services as well as more hydrogen buses.

Aligned to the region’s Vision for Bus, this latest round of investment is a key part of Mayor Rotheram’s pledge to reform the region’s transport by building a London-style system that will make travelling around quicker, cheaper, greener and more reliable.

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