Bedford Borough Council has welcomed a government scheme to provide affordable bus travel to residents with a £2 bus fare cap in the new year.

The Department for Transport (DfT) led scheme, which encourages people to ‘get around for £2’, will run from 1 January – 31 March 2023 and will see all adult single fares capped at £2 and all return fares capped at £4 on bus services operated by participating companies.

In Bedford Borough, the following operators have signed up for the scheme:

·       Stagecoach

·       Uno

Councillor Charles Royden, Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: “We know the cost of living pressures are affecting many people and hopefully these discounted fares will help Bedford Borough residents to cut costs as they use buses to get to school, to work and to visit our town and city centres.

“Swapping car journeys for bus trips also helps to reduce the number of cars in our town and city centres, reducing congestion, cutting emissions and improving the environment.

“With these discounted fares, I would encourage residents of Bedford Borough to give it a go and get around for £2 this winter.”

More information about the government bus fare cap scheme is available on the government website (www.gov.uk/government/news/millions-encouraged-to-get-around-for-2-by-bus) or by visiting bus providers' websites.