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New UK PM Burnham: Bus fare cap to be cut to £2 from January 2027
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Newly appointed UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a reduction in the price cap on local bus fares across England, lowering it from £3 to £2 for a one-year period starting January 2027. This is the second measure of his cost-of-living agenda, following the abolition of VAT on household electricity bills for six months. The price cap was originally introduced by the Conservative government in 2023 at £2, then raised to £3 by Burnham's predecessor Keir Starmer in 2025. Burnham stated that affordable transport is a basic necessity and that no one should be excluded due to cost. The reduction will be financed by reallocating planned climate protection investments, with some now recorded as loans rather than expenditures. Burnham took office on Monday, succeeding Starmer, and has promised to give Britons more 'room to breathe.'
Source report
The new Labour Prime Minister Burnham reverses the increase in the price cap on local bus travel ordered by his predecessor Starmer.
22 July 2026 | 13:21 Uhr
Don't tighten the belt too much: For the bus price announcement, Burnham sat in a bus in Bath, naturally in the driver's seat. Photo: Toby Melville/Reuters
dpa/taz — Great Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has lowered the cap on bus ticket prices as the second measure of his cost-of-living agenda. Single local journeys across England are to cost no more than £2 (€2.35) for one year starting January 2027. Previously, the price cap was £3 (€3.50).
"Good, affordable transport links are a basic necessity. No one should be excluded or left behind due to cost," said Burnham while announcing the measure in the city of Bath.
The Labour politician has been Prime Minister of Great Britain since Monday, succeeding Keir Starmer, and has promised to give Britons more "room to breathe." His first announcement on Tuesday was the abolition of value-added tax on electricity bills for private households for six months starting in October.
Background
The price cap on local bus travel has been in place since 2023, originally introduced by the Conservative government. Previously, caps existed only in individual transport associations, such as in London and Manchester, introduced by the respective mayors Boris Johnson and Andy Burnham.
In 2023, Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak extended this nationwide with a price cap of £2. The government of Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised it to £3 from the beginning of 2025.
Financing
The new reduction to £2 is to be financed by reallocating planned climate protection investments. Some of these are now to be recorded as loans rather than expenditures.
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Part of this Story
UK PM Burnham cuts electricity VAT and caps bus fares to ease cost of living