£2 Bus Fare Cap England 2027: What’s Changing

Single bus fares on participating services in England outside London will be capped at £2 from 1st January 2027. The new cap will run throughout 2027 and replace the current national £3 bus fare cap.

What is changing with bus fares?

From 1st January 2027, a single bus fare on a participating service covered by the national scheme will be capped at £2.

The change means the national fare cap will be reduced from £3 to £2. The £2 cap is planned to remain in place until 31st December 2027.

The Department for Transport says the scheme will apply to participating bus services in England outside London. Participation by bus operators is important, so the £2 cap does not mean every bus service in England will automatically charge a maximum of £2.

When does the £2 bus fare cap start?

The new cap starts on 1st January 2027.

The existing national £3 cap continues until the end of 2026. From 1st January 2027, the maximum fare covered by the new scheme becomes £2.

Will every bus journey cost £2?

No. The £2 figure is a maximum fare under the scheme, not a standard price for every journey.

If a participating bus service already charges less than £2 for a single journey, the fare can remain below £2. The cap simply means that an eligible single fare covered by the scheme should not be more than £2.

It also does not mean that every ticket sold by a bus operator will cost £2. Day tickets, weekly tickets, return tickets, season tickets and other products can have their own prices and conditions.

Which buses are covered?

The national fare cap applies to participating bus services. The government has published information about participating operators and routes for the national scheme.

Some types of service may not be covered. The existing national fare-cap guidance, for example, excludes certain services such as coach services, school-only services and airport services.

Because participation and route coverage can vary, it is worth checking the bus operator’s information before travelling if you are relying on the £2 maximum fare.

Does the £2 cap apply to London?

No. The national £2 bus fare cap does not apply to London.

London has its own bus fare arrangements, set through Transport for London. The national scheme specifically covers England outside London.

What about Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

The £2 national bus fare cap is an England-only scheme outside London.

It does not introduce a £2 national fare cap in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Bus fares in those nations are subject to their own arrangements and local schemes.

What happens to the £3 bus fare cap?

The current national £3 cap continues until the end of 2026. The new £2 scheme then replaces it from 1st January 2027.

In other words, the change is:

• Until 31st December 2026: the national cap is £3 on participating services.
• From 1st January 2027: the national cap falls to £2 on participating services.
• 31st December 2027: the announced £2 scheme is due to end.

Will return and day tickets also be capped at £2?

Not necessarily. The announced national scheme is for single bus tickets.

A return ticket, day ticket, weekly ticket or other multi-journey product is not automatically a £2 ticket simply because a single fare is covered by the cap. Operators can continue to offer their own ticket products and prices.

Who is most likely to notice the change?

The biggest difference will be for passengers whose eligible single fares would otherwise cost more than £2.

For example, a participating single fare that would normally be £2.80 would be subject to the £2 maximum under the scheme. A journey that already costs £1.80 would not need to fall to £1.80 because it is already below the cap.

The government says the measure is intended to reduce the cost of everyday bus travel and particularly help people making longer journeys, including in rural and coastal areas where fares can be higher.

Do concessionary bus passes change?

The £2 fare cap is separate from concessionary travel schemes such as free bus travel for eligible older and disabled people.

If you already use a concessionary pass, the rules applying to that pass continue separately from the national single-fare cap. The £2 scheme is primarily about the price of eligible single tickets on participating services.

Do passengers need to apply for the £2 fare?

No application is expected for ordinary passengers. The fare cap operates through participating bus operators and the national scheme.

You should simply check the fare information for the service you are using. If a journey is covered by the scheme, the operator should apply the relevant maximum fare.

How long will the £2 bus fare cap last?

The government has announced the £2 cap for the full 2027 calendar year, from 1st January to 31st December 2027.

This means the currently announced timeline is:

• 2026: £3 national cap continues on participating services.
• 1st January 2027: £2 cap begins.
• 31st December 2027: announced £2 cap period ends.

What you need to do

If you use buses in England outside London, you do not need to make an application to benefit from the fare cap.

From 1st January 2027, check whether the operator and route you use are participating in the scheme. If they are, an eligible single fare should be no more than £2.

If you regularly buy day, weekly or other tickets, check those prices separately because the £2 cap applies to single bus fares rather than automatically setting the price of every ticket type.

Information checked

This article was checked against current official information from:

• Department for Transport guidance on the national bus fare cap
• Department for Transport announcement of the £2 bus fare cap from January 2027
• GOV.UK information on participating services and exclusions under the national fare-cap scheme

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about the national bus fare cap based on official information available when it was checked. Participation, route coverage and individual fares can change. Check the relevant bus operator or GOV.UK guidance for the latest information before travelling.