ALBUM members recognise that the £2 fares cap has been a valuable help for passengers during the cost of living challenge. We welcome the recognition, at the highest level in Government, of the importance of buses. The Government clearly sees a £2 fare cap as a temporary benefit to passengers and we support that. We will work constructively with the Department for Transport on this and other measures that can improve the performance of buses, particularly the critical issue of the management of the highway network.
The cost to operators reducing fares must be met fairly by the Government, particularly for ALBUM members who are often providing small, intensely local networks where the slightest disruption to the stability of services can be very problematic. Like all labour-intensive industries, bus operator inflation is well ahead of measures such as CPI or RPI. It is essential that the Government properly recognises the increases in industry costs – unless this happens, services, timetables, and frequencies will suffer.
It is also critical that the Government develops an exit strategy for the end of the £2 scheme. When fares go back to pre-£2 levels, increased by bus industry inflation, the effect on passengers will be dramatic. The longer the £2 cap continues, the more important it is to work out how the Government is going to help manage the route back to commercial fares.