The £2 Fare Cap: What Would it Mean for Lancaster?

 

There has been much speculation in the media lately about the government introducing a compulsory cap on bus fares of £2 per single journey, although no official announcement has yet been made.

Things are, however, on the move in Greater Manchester, where the Mayor, Andy Burnham, is pressing ahead with his plan to cap fares from 4th September, in advance of the introduction of a bus franchising scheme next year. A similar fares cap will apply in West Yorkshire from the same date.

Under the schemes, adult bus fares for journeys wholly within Greater Manchester or West Yorkshire (but not between the two) will cost no more than £2 (child fares will be £1) for a single journey, whilst a one-day ticket for unlimited travel will cost £5 in Greater Manchester and £4.50 in West Yorkshire and will be valid on all buses. 

So how would a national cap modelled on the Manchester scheme affect the cost of travel around Lancaster and Morecambe?

Who benefits?

For many local journeys it would make no difference.  Single fares from the city centre to places such as Marsh, Ridge, Scale Hall and Bowerham are already below the £2 cap and would not be affected. Similarly, passengers making return journeys to or from Vale, ASDA, Lancaster University or Standen Gate  who do pay more than £2 for a single ticket can buy a return for less than £4 

Even passengers travelling farther afield, providing they make a return journey or use more than two buses to complete a journey, are unlikely to see a saving as Stagecoach's Bay Area Day Ticket at £5 is the same price as the proposed capped fare. Although the Bay Area ticket covers a smaller area than Greater Manchester it nevertheless allows travel as far south as Hampson Green and as far north as Silverdale at north of Carnforth as well as the whole of Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham.

The only passengers likely to make very substantial savings are those travelling a very long way. A £2 cap would apply to journeys to places such as Blackpool, Preston, Kendal, Keswick, Kirkby Lonsdale and Skipton and even paying another £2 to come back would still be cheaper than the present-day return fares, which range between £8.40 and £12 for these destinations.

Daily Commuters

Passengers travelling five or more days a week in Lancaster would still be better off buying a Bay Mega Rider (£17) which works out at £3.40 a day if used five days a week and even less if the sixth and seventh days are used.

Even passengers who travel regularly but not every day can already travel for £4 a day by buying a Bay Flexi 5, which is a bundle of five Bay Area Day Riders costing £20 that can be used on any five days over a year.  The similar Bay Flexi 10 ticket works out at £3.50 a day for 10 days travel, which can also be spread over one year from date of purchase.

Once again, only those commuters travelling farther afield would benefit from a £2 fare.

Not Everyone Travels with Stagecoach

Stagecoach and Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire Buses. 
Could there be one ticket you could use on both?

Passengers who travel on services run by Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire would also  benefit.  Anyone who currently buys that operator's £22 weekly ticket for the "Craven Connection" services in the Lune Valley and travels five days a week could instead buy ten £2 single tickets and save £2 over the week. On the other hand, passengers on the 89 service between Lancaster and Knott End who travel five days a week would still be better off with the £16 weekly ticket available on that service.

Of course, the passengers who would really benefit are those unfortunates who currently have to use BOTH operator's buses to complete their daily journeys as there is no ticket available at present that covers journeys on every bus in the District. For example, anyone travelling between villages in the Lune Valley and Morecambe, or the University has to pay both Stagecoach and Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire for their journey and would benefit by being able to buy a one-day ticket for £5 that could be used for their whole journey.

The Way Ahead?

It would seem therefore that most benefit would accrue to people making lengthy journeys to places outside the Lancaster District.  These services tend to run less often than the shorter urban routes, making them less able to cope with sudden increases in demand.

If the scheme was too successful in attracting extra passengers to these services, which surely must be one of its objectives, the prospect of a £2 journey to Blackpool or Keswick on a nice sunny day could lead to overcrowding on buses and even passengers being  left behind!  Unlike Greater Manchester's scheme, which is intended to be permanent, albeit subject to review, the government's scheme is expected to be time-limited, which raises the question of how many of the extra passengers gained will continue to travel when their £2 fare suddenly becomes £12 again and therefore what the long-term benefits of the scheme would be.

On the other hand, the introduction of a £5 Day Ticket that was usable on every bus in the District, irrespective of operator, would bring immediate and lasting benefits to those passengers whose journeys require them to use both our local operators' buses.  The Bus Users' Group called for this in our response to the consultation on Lancashire's Bus Service Improvement Plan, which is in the course of being implemented. 

The proposal for a national bus fare cap has gone very quiet recently and no decision is likely to be made until the new prime minister and his or her cabinet are in place. Unfortunately, neither candidate for the top job has expressed any interest in buses, unlike Boris, who for all is faults will at least be remembered by bus passengers, at least in London for the replacement buses for the iconic Routemasters that now (unofficially) bear his name.

Boris Johnson and the "New Routemaster" London bus aka the "Borismaster"