Mayor's Fares sees 7.2m bus passengers in its first three months

02 February 2023

New figures have revealed almost half a million people in West Yorkshire have been getting the bus every week since the introduction of the £2-a-journey Mayor’s Fares pricing scheme.

Statistics released by West Yorkshire Combined Authority today (Thursday, February 2) show passengers across the region saved around £3.6m on what they would have been paying before the scheme was introduced last autumn.

Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin says the scheme was introduced to help make travel around the region easier in the face of huge increases in the cost of living over the past year.

The scheme guarantees nobody pays more than £2 for a single journey, or £4.50 a day, for bus travel across the region.

Numbers revealed at a meeting between the region’s leaders showed passenger levels on West Yorkshire’s buses were moving ever-closer to pre-pandemic levels, with a total of 7.2million journeys having taken place between October and the end of December 2022.

This shows bus usage has grown from 81 percent of pre-pandemic levels in May 2022, to 87 percent in December, showing growth since Mayor’s Fares was introduced.

Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin said:

“The early success of Mayor’s Fares shows there is an appetite for well-priced bus travel in West Yorkshire. This is especially important as our communities face a cost of living crisis and I’m proud that we have been able to help people at a time when they need it most.

“I want to encourage as many people as possible in our region to use greener and more sustainable ways of getting around – we now need to see the bus operators do their bit and work hard to recruit drivers and ensure services are as reliable as they can be.

“We want to create a public transport renaissance in West Yorkshire, and cheaper bus travel is just the start.”

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford City Council and Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, said:

“The cost of living crisis is an ongoing problem for so many across our region.

“This is a practical and simple way leaders in West Yorkshire can help families and individuals who may have been struggling to afford to meet loved ones or get to work. I am delighted at the success of the scheme.”

Mayor’s Fares was introduced on September 4, 2022, capping single journeys at £2 and the MCard DaySaver at £4.50, reduced from £5.50.