Look what we achieved together in 2023!

5 January 2024  |  Michael Solomon Williams  |  Buses

Get around for two pounds

We campaigned for soaring bus fares to be capped, and were delighted that we were able to persuade the Government to cap single bus fares in England at £2, representing a substantial cut to many fares.

The cap brought some great bargains – for instance it now costs just £2 to travel 39 miles from Newcastle to Middlesborough, or to make the 84-mile journey from Leeds to Whitby, voted Britain’s Most Scenic Bus Route. In our travels around the country we spoke to one Norfolk bus user who said the cap saved him £100 a month.

Later, with the help of our supporters who lobbied their MPs, we successfully campaigned for the cap to be extended far beyond its original three-month term. It will continue at least until the end of 2024, helping many people with the cost of living.

A brighter future for buses

Bus services have been facing challenges for many years, even before they were hit by the pandemic, and too many services have been cut. In 2023 we redoubled our efforts to raise awareness of this issue, and our research into bus cuts hit the headlines.

Happily, the Government agreed to extend Covid recovery funding for buses, after lobbying by us and our supporters. The £2 fare cap tempted people on board, and we helped by spreading the word about how brilliant buses are. We were thrilled when annual figures showed a 19% increase in passenger journeys, and in October we saw the first weekday when more people travelled by bus than on the equivalent day before the pandemic.

Progress was also made on bringing super-modern zero emission buses to more areas, including Leicester, Yorkshire, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampshire – something we have long called for.

And the Government launched a Bus Centre of Excellence to upskill, recruit and retain bus professionals. We called for this, and our research helped to shape it.

Growing the railway

When a town or neighbourhood gets connected to the rail network for the first time – or reconnected after many years – it has a transformative effect, boosting the local economy, creating better places to live and reducing carbon emissions. So, years ago, we successfully campaigned for the Government to set up a New Stations Fund. In 2023, new stations opened in Reading, Kent and Bristol, supported by this New Stations Fund, and another got the go-ahead in Devon.

We also learnt that regular train services will return to the Northumberland Line, which was closed to passengers as part of the Beeching cuts and which we identified as a top-priority reopening.

A fare future on the horizon

Transport Secretary Mark Harper made a welcome speech, the George Bradshaw address, which reflected some of our asks, signalling a drive for more passengers and more freight on the rails, and reform to fares and ticketing including single-leg pricing.

We ramped up our work to make rail fares fairer and more affordable, publishing a major new report called A fare future for rail. MPs from all the main political parties attended our parliamentary event to show their support for rail fare reform, and we are working with government and the rail industry to progress some of our recommendations.

Progress is happening – albeit slowly – to form a new public body, called Great British Railways, which will take responsibility for infrastructure, services and fares, easing the way for the rail fare reforms we have been calling for.

Saving the Travelcard

London’s Day Travelcard is a paper ticket which makes it simple and affordable for people to travel around the capital by train, tube and bus. So, when the Travelcard was threatened, we started a campaign to save it.

We asked our supporters to write to their local councils and MPs, and to tell us why the Travelcard matters to them.

We met with the Rail Delivery Group, train operators, Transport for London and Ministers in the Department for Transport. We got businesses and tourism operators involved in our campaign, and we spread our message in the media, including the BBC, ITV and the Standard.

Our multi-faceted approach was successful, and the decision to reverse the withdrawal of the Day Travelcard was announced in October, bringing relief to the millions that rely on the card every year. All sides, from different political persuasions found consensus, with a strong campaign led primarily by our supporters.

Better Transport Week

Finally this year, we decided it was high time for a national celebration of everything that is brilliant about sustainable transport, so we ran the first ever Better Transport Week! With events encouraging people try public and shared transport, walking and cycling, the week was such a success that we have decided to make it an annual event – look out for Better Transport Week 2024!

None of these successes would have been possible without our amazing supporters, who help by making donations, taking actions, spreading the word and using green transport when they can. So to you we offer a huge thanks – we’re looking forward to the year to come!