Tracy Brabin welcomes postponement of bus fare increases in South Yorkshire

Responding to the news that South Yorkshire’s bus operators have agreed to postpone a planned 5% rise in fare prices, Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, says: “I am pleased that good sense has prevailed in South Yorkshire and the bus operators have backed down from their planned 5% increase in ticket prices.

“Bus operators have been protected from the economic impact of the pandemic by taxpayers’ money in return for providing a service for people who rely on the bus, many of whom are key workers or are providing vital front-line services.

“Now was the wrong time to hit hard-working people in their pockets when we should instead be restoring confidence in using the bus to help our regions recover from Covid and we need bus companies to work with us on this.

“I am pleased that we are not seeing similar price increases in West Yorkshire. Prices for all MCard bus-only tickets remain frozen and the agreements we have with bus operators in West Yorkshire prevent them from increasing fares while emergency funding is in operation.

“But this underlines why it is so important that we bring our region’s buses back under public control, so we can regulate fares and offer a better deal. In a few weeks, we intend to start the process of bringing West Yorkshire’s buses under franchise control, so we can provide an effective, accountable and affordable bus service for our region.”