Bus fare rises outside London labelled a 'scandal'

Nick Forbes has described continued increases in bus fares outside of London as a ‘scandal’, after government figures showed that bus fares outside London have risen by 12.8 per cent over the last five years.

The government said its planned £5 billion investment in local bus networks would lower fares and improve services. But Forbes, who is leader of Newcastle City Council, said that operators in receipt of public money should be lowering fares.

In comparison to fares outside of London, fares in the capital have fallen by 2.3 per cent. The fare for any single bus journey within central London has been frozen at £1.50 for the last five years.  Bus journeys have reduced by about eight per cent in both the capital and across England in the last five years - from 4.67 billion in 2013/14 to 4.31 billion last year.

Transport for London regulates and subsidises bus fares by about £700 million a year. The vast majority of services outside London are unregulated, with private operators setting ticket prices and timetables.

Forbes said: "Some of our bus fares here in Tyne and Wear are some of the highest in the UK and it's an absolute scandal that you can travel for an hour on the bus anywhere in London for £1.50. I can't think of a single fare that you can pay in Newcastle for £1.50."

In England last year, bus passengers made three times the amount of journeys taken by rail commuters.