Now Burnham eyes £2 cap on bus fares to tackle cost-of-living crisis

By SAM MERRIMAN, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 23:16, 21 July 2026 | Updated: 23:16, 21 July 2026 Andy Burnham is poised to announce a new £2 cap on bus fares as part of a range of measures to tackle the cost of living. The new Prime Minister introduced a similar cap in Greater Manchester in 2022 when he was mayor of the region and is now set to roll it out nationwide. Mr Burnham talked up the prospect of a £2 cap during his campaign for the Makerfield by-election in June and an announcement about the policy could come as soon as Wednesday. An England-wide bus fare cap was previously set at £2 under the Conservatives to encourage people to use public transport after traveller numbers dropped dramatically during the Covid pandemic. But Labour increased the cap to £3 from January 2025, in a decision taken at the autumn Budget in 2024. Some city and regional mayors have powers to keep local bus fares lower than the national cap. In June, while campaigning to return to Parliament as an MP so he could oust Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Burnham said: 'In an ideal world, I would like to cut the cost of public transport as low as possible. 'I have made it free for 16 to 18 year olds and recently removed the 9.30am restriction on older and disabled people's bus passes. I will try to keep the £2 capped bus fare for as long as I possibly can. New Prime Minister Andy Burnham may cap bus fares at £2 in an effort to address the cost of living crisis 'Low-cost or free public transport is a brilliant way to get people back to work and connect communities.' It is understood the cap will be introduced from January next year. It came after the Prime Minister announced that VAT is to be removed from electricity bills to help households struggling with the cost of living. Mr Burnham said he wants to tackle soaring costs to help give Britons some 'breathing space' and said the £850million cost of removing VAT from bills would be paid for by his decision to scrap Sir Keir's digital ID scheme. But this was thrown into doubt when Darren Jones, the architect of the scheme who was sacked by Mr Burnham on Monday, warned no funding had been earmarked for digital ID.