Burnham issues statement on future of Bee Network £2 bus fare cap - it's staying

Greater Manchester’s mayor has said the £2 fare cap on the region’s buses will stay as part of his vision for an ‘affordable low fare’ network.

Yesterday, plans for new tram stops, 1,000 more electric buses, tram-trains, new interchanges and a cash commitment to a long-awaited Metrolink extension to Stockport were announced for the region by the Government.

The bumper transport deal is worth £2.5bn over the next seven years.

Andy Burnham was challenged yesterday as to whether the expansion would lead to higher fares.

Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester’s ‘In The Hotseat’ phone-in, he told listeners: “I really hope not, the whole point of the Bee Network is taking public control of the system to build a system that works for the public.

“That means affordable low fares.

“I want to keep the £2 capped fare for as long as we possibly can.

“The more people use the Bee Network the more I can keep that fare in place.

“The money now comes back to us.

“In the old de-regulated system if loads of people used the buses the private operators just got bigger profits.

“Now if the buses are used more that upside comes back to us to keep the fares low.”

Late last year, the bus fare cap for areas outside Greater Manchester and London was raised to a maximum of £3 per journey.

Mr Burnham was challenged on whether the network would continue to be subsidised by taxpayers.

He said: “Every single public transport system everywhere in the world has a degree of subsidy.

“London has had a major subsidy for decades and we’ve had scraps.

“We’re trying our best to make it add up as a low fare system and we will be able to make it add up.

“But I don’t want to start shrinking it.

“I want to expand the system and get more people using it and then that keeps the fares low.

“That’s the model I’m trying to build.”

Speaking about yesterday’s transport infrastructure announcement, Mr Burnham, said: “The Bee Network has done well.

“The investment allows it to become everything I’ve wanted it to be, all electric, expanded and still a low fare system, fully integrated.

“Greater Manchester is going to be light years ahead of everyone in terms of the quality of our public transport.

“That means our economy will keep building on the back of it.

“We’re set up for another decade of growth.”

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