£2 Fare Extended

The £2 Bus Fare Extended Until The End Of June

The Somerset Bus Partnership has welcomed the Government's decision to provide an additional £75 million. This will enable bus operators to continue to cap their single adult bus fares at £2. The £2 flat fare introduced in January is now set to continue through to the end of June. Bus users in Somerset will be able to continue to travel on most bus routes in the county and beyond for just £2.

It's worth remembering that this initiative applies to cross-boundary services, which means you can travel for example from Yeovil to Taunton or Chard to Taunton for just £2.

It's hoped this will persuade even more people to travel by bus, whether that's for work, education, shopping or medical treatments. Millions of people across England will be saving money just at a time when many households are suffering from the rising cost of living.

The 13 operators involved in the scheme are:

• ATWEST
• Bakers Dolphin
• Community Transport (South West) Ltd
• Dartline
• Faresaver Buses
• First South West (Buses of Somerset)
• First West of England
• Hatch Green Coaches
• FromeBus
• Libra Travel
• Mendip Community Transport
• Somerset County Council
• South West Coaches.

For more information on this scheme: https://www.travelsomerset.co.uk/busit.

Somerset County Council and the Somerset Bus Partnership have launched the 'BUS IT' campaign to promote bus travel.

Somerset Bus Partnership's Co-Chair, Peter Travis, said,

"Bus usage had declined in Somerset during the previous decade, and even more so during the pandemic. So initiatives like the £2 flat fare are needed to boost passenger levels. Encouraging people to choose buses over cars is really important because it also helps reduce our carbon emissions. Transport accounts for nearly half of our carbon emissions in Somerset. Somerset Bus Partnership will therefore be continuing to work with Somerset County Council to encourage greater bus usage."

Help Needed

Somerset Bus Partnership is a voluntary organisation formed some 2 years ago. It now has 150 bus champions and works with 125 Parish Councils across Somerset. It ensures the views of bus users are heard on what they need from bus services in our County ... which means people can get to where they want to ... when they want to ... and the journey is reliable, comfortable and affordable. Key to the journey experience is easy access to bus information, improved bus stops and bus stations, and bus services that integrate with rail.

We are looking to expand the work of Somerset Bus Partnership over the next 12 months. However, we need more resource to help us do this.

Can you spare an hour a month to help? We could do with some assistance with our membership and administration. Or do you have a background in Planning, Traffic Management or Public Transport? Or have fundraising experience and could help with submitting fundraising plans?

If you can help please get in contact: somersetbuspartnership@gmail.com
http://www.somersetbuspartnership.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/Somerset-Bus-Partnership-105704811629827