The £3 single ticket cap, a measure meant to keep bus fares affordable for tens of thousands of passengers, could be scrapped.
The universal £3 limit is set to be axed in favour of a more “targeted” approach, according to the Mirror.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander refused to say if the scheme would survive Rachel Reeves’ forthcoming spending review and revealed that only one in six journeys currently benefit from the price cap.
Government sources have suggested that local leaders will gain greater control to focus the fare relief on specific demographics or regions.
Campaigners fear that scrapping the cap could cause single fares to skyrocket by over £10 in certain parts of the UK. Presently, the national fare ceiling outside London, increased from £2 by Keir Starmer, is secured until the end of the year.
Ms Alexander said: “When the announcement was made last year about the £3 bus cap, we committed to having that in place until the end of this year. One of the really important things to remember about this scheme is that it only applies to single bus journeys.”
She added: “A lot of people who use buses regularly, for example, would be using a weekly or a monthly Travelcard-type arrangement.
“In fact, the cap only applies to one in six bus journeys at the moment. We are having discussions as part of the spending review, but I’ll leave it at that.”
A Government source has revealed that fare caps for buses won’t be completely scrapped but may differ across various regions, reports the Mirror. They added: “Under this Labour government buses are no longer the forgotten part of our public transport network.
“We stepped in to fund the bus fare cap this year at short notice to avoid a Tory-made cliff-edge fare hike.
“But with only one in six journeys supported by the fare cap, that money could be working harder for passengers.
“We are looking at a more targeted approach to allow Councils and Mayors to maintain a cap where it makes sense for them. This fits with the wider plans we have for to support buses in our new law allowing Local Authorities and Mayors to expand bus networks in a way that suits their community, wherever they are, as well as protecting lifeline local routes for the first time.”
Mr Starmer promised that the existing cap would stay until the end of the year. The current spend is £150 million on the policy, a fraction of a substantial £1 billion investment earmarked for enhancing bus services.
Louise Haigh, who held the post before Ms Alexander, had proposed that starting from 2026, fare capping might be particularly aimed at younger people and those living in rural settings.