Northumberland bus fares to be capped at £2.50 as mayor confirms new price limit for 2025

North East mayor Kim McGuinness has announced that a £2.50 maximum fare price for a single journey will come into force from January, when the national fare cap for adults jumps from £2 to £3.

There have been major concerns that the Government’s move to increase the ticket price limit, described as a “stealth tax” by critics, will cause a dip in passenger numbers and hit rural communities particularly hard.

While leaders in other northern regions, including Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire, have committed to keep the £2 cap going in their region for at least part of next year, Ms McGuinness had instead focused on maintaining a £1 ticket offer for bus users aged 21 and under.

However, that has now changed – with confirmation that a £2.50 cap will be instituted on bus routes across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham from January until December 2025.

The fare cap will be subsidised by the North East Combined Authority (NECA) and will mean that adult single bus fares across the region are expected to range from £1.90 to £2.50, with commercial bus operators deciding their own prices for shorter journeys that fall below the cap.

The mayor said: “I am determined to deliver a green, integrated transport network that works for all – and a huge part of that is making fares cheaper every day to help local people to travel by public transport to college, to their place of work and other opportunities.

"I am committed to make public transport much more affordable and I can confirm I will cap all adult single bus fares in the North East at a maximum of £2.50 from January 2025, saving passengers at least 50p for each and every journey.

“We are also keeping the £1 fare for young people aged 21 next year and I will do everything I possibly can to keep this in place until 2028. This means the maximum amount you will pay for a single bus fare in the North East next year will be £2.50 – saving passengers money each and every day, helping more people travel affordably and encouraging more people to use the bus whenever they can.

“This is a huge achievement, and I’m pleased to fund this new cap to keep travel costs as low as they can be. These fares will support local people, helping families across the region save money on transport costs and keep more money in their pocket.”

Bus fares outside of London have been capped at £2 since January 2023, but Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed in October that the Government would be upping that to £3.

Ms McGuinness has promised to take control of the North East’s bus services away from private companies for the first time since the deregulation of the 1980s. NECA is in the early stages of developing a franchise model, which will allow it to set fare prices and routes as it contracts services out to operators.