BUS fares in Warrington will continue to be capped at £2 – but this is only until April next year at this stage.

Warrington Borough Council has provided reassurance to bus passengers that low bus fares will continue in the borough until at least next spring.

The council has reconfirmed that £2 adult capped fares and £1 capped fares for under 22s will remain in place until March 31, 2025.

This is despite the national announcement by the Labour Government that the fare cap in England will rise from £2 to £3 at the end of this year.

Following the Department for Transport’s announcement of Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding for the coming year, the council is now discussing how this funding can be used to continue to keep low fares in place beyond March 2025.

Warrington is set to receive £3.8million in BSIP funding from the Government for 2025/26, as part of a wider £148million investment to deliver better bus services across the north west.

A spokesman for the Labour-run council said: “With the forthcoming buses bill giving local leaders across England greater control to deliver bus services in a way that suits the needs of their communities, Warrington will now be looking at how the latest funding can be used to continue to drive forward a range of improvements, including the continuation of cheap fares.”

Since 2022, Warrington has received more than £22million in BSIP funding, which is being used in partnership with the town’s new fleet of electric buses.

Under the banner of ‘Better by Bus’, a range of improvements have been made to services, as well as the fare caps.

These include enhanced timetables, with more frequent buses every day, free bus travel for care leavers aged between 18 and 22, and new bus shelters across the network.

Council leader Cllr Hans Mundry, who is also cabinet member for transport, said: “We welcome this latest BSIP funding from the Government, which will enable us to continue on our journey towards transforming bus services in Warrington.

“The funding we have received in recent years has been put to excellent use, delivering a range of improvements across the board.

“This is from cheaper fares and enhanced timetables to free concessionary travel all day, complementing our fantastic new fleet of all-electric buses.

“We have seen particular success with our £2 and £1 capped fares, which we had already committed to keep in place until March 2025.

“Now, with confirmation of this latest funding from the government, we will be looking closely at how we can continue to keep fares low throughout 2025, and what further improvements we can make to ensure all our communities benefit from modern, reliable and attractive bus services, now and in the future.”

The council says that further announcements about bus fares in Warrington from April 2025 onwards will be made in the near future.