Bus fare cap 50p rise still too much - commuters

A smaller rise in West Yorkshire's bus fares next year than is expected in other parts of the country would still be a worry, commuters in Bradford have warned.

Last week, West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin revealed plans to increase the county's single bus fare cap in March by 50p to £2.50, while the government will raise the cap nationally to £3.

While Brabin's plan would mean West Yorkshire's commuters still paid some of the country's lowest fares, Bradford's bus users have said the rise would nevertheless mean more pressure on people's finances.

Jane Williams, 61, who said she got the bus between Yeadon and Bradford five days a week, said it was "still going to be a lot weekly and monthly".

Brabin's plan is a continuation of the Mayor's Fares scheme which she introduced in September 2022 to help people with the rise in the cost of living.

Waiting for a bus out of Bradford, Ms Williams said: "Nationally, I think it is a lot, because a lot of people have to catch the buses."

Meanwhile, Ms Williams criticised the value for money that commuters in West Yorkshire currently got for their bus fares even before next year's planned increase.

"The bus services aren't good. There are always ones missing," she said.

"I used to live over in Manchester where there was the tram service. The tram service and buses are absolutely fantastic over there.

"The buses over here take us ages to get anywhere."

John Ricketts, 64, another Bradford bus user, was no more upbeat about public transport in the county.

He said he believed Bradford Interchange bus station, which has been closed since January due to structural problems, would have been fixed quicker if it was in a bigger city.

Mr Ricketts said paying more to get on the bus would only add to his frustration.

"Everything's going up, isn't it? It'll cost me a lot more money," he said.

"I'm not happy. No one is."

Hannah Marren, 28, who works at Bradford Hospital, said even with the minimum wage going up, it did not help that other costs, like bus fares, were also on the rise.

"I'm always constantly spending more money and not having enough for the rest of the month," she explained.

"The bus service I usually get is kind of useless, I'm not going to lie.

"When I first moved here, they came every 10 minutes. Then it changed to every 15 minutes - and now it's every 25 minutes.

"We never have enough seats. It's always overcrowded, and they never send the correct buses at the right time," Ms Marren added.

However, Bradford bus passenger Abimbola Akinyemi, 35, said the proposed 50p increase to £2.50 was "still better than other cities having to pay £3".

But, he said: "It's still stress and pressure on us because we still need to have more money to pay on transport for daily use."

Annette Jones, 47, said she believed the issue of rising fares had been blown out of proportion and "quite a lot" of bus passengers had a bus pass.

"The [minimum] wage is going up, so the bus fares are going up," she said.

"It's a load of nonsense, really. People moan about everything."

Brabin's proposal is expected to be put to regional leaders for approval at a meeting of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in December.

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