Portsmouth commuters to be hit by Labour "bus tax"

Warning! Single fare bus tickets are going from £2 to £3

Recently, I wrote to the Minister for Transport in support of the £2 single bus fare.

Now Labour PM, Kier Starmer, says it will have to go up from £2 to £3 from January.

That's a 50% price increase in one hit ! If that's not a "bus tax" on working people, what is?

It's also a wrong move when buses should be one of the cheapest and most sustainable ways for people to travel to work in cities. 

Lib Dem-led Portsmouth is currently no.1 in the UK in re-building bus usage after Covid.

The number Portsmouth bus trips is up by over 20% vs a year ago, with over 11million tickets sold.

There is more to come.  More electric buses, more improvements to timetables and more new tickets like the newly launched Solent Go.

Buses are a practical way to make Portsmouth greener and more prosperous.

But putting up bus fares up for working people could undo all this good work.

Honestly, I had expected Labour to do more for people using buses, not less.

Instead, Labour is choosing to hit people, often on lower incomes, who travel to work by bus.

After the still simmering rows over the Winter Fuel Payments and the 2 child benefit cap, this feels like another "Let down by Labour" moment.

Certainly, it's not the change I had hoped for when the Conservatives were dumped in July!

by Lib Dem Cllr Peter Candlish

Cabinet Member for Transport, Portsmouth City Council

Disagree with Labour increasing bus fares? Why not share this article?

Sign up to our email newsletter to hear more about issues that matter to you.