Aylesbury bus company joins £2 maximum fare scheme after local campaigning

Yesterday (25 June), Conservative candidate for the Parliamentary seat in Aylesbury, Rob Butler, announced Red Rose Travel was joining the scheme.

Since January 2022, a majority of bus companies in the UK have adopted a policy where no single journey will cost more than £2.

Since its launch Aylesbury’s main bus operator Arriva, as well as Red Eagle Buses and Redline Buses have used the scheme.

But despite, being part of the same Red Bus Group, as the previously mentioned colour-coded services, Red Rose Travel had continued to charge full fares for its journeys.

This meant customers travelling to and from Aylesbury and Milton Keynes were paying significantly more per journey than other locals were for similarly distanced trips to Thame or Hemel Hempstead.

Aylesbury’s most recent MP, Mr Butler, raised the issue in Parliament after constituents contacted his office complaining. Then transport minister, Guy

Opperman, and Mr Butler held a meeting with Red Rose managing director, Taj Khan, to persuade him to join the scheme.

Mr Butler has now received confirmation that Red Rose bus journeys will be capped at £2 starting on Monday (1 July).

Aylesbury’s former MP said: “I am delighted that even more Buckinghamshire residents will benefit from the Government’s £2 bus fare cap, as a result of my work to convince Red Rose to join the scheme. I am very grateful to Mr Khan for responding to the concerns I raised with him and working with the Department of Transport to become part of this incredibly successful programme. This is a prime example of the way a committed local politician can work in Parliament and with ministers to achieve real benefits for his constituents – actually putting in the hard graft, rather than sniping on social media.

“The Conservative manifesto pledges to continue the £2 cap for the entirety of the next Parliament, funded by the cancellation of Phase 2 of HS2. This will encourage more people to use public transport, helping to tackle the traffic on our congested local roads – one of my key priorities in this General Election campaign.”

According to the Government, the ‘Get Around for £2’ scheme helped cut bus fares in England outside London by 7.4% between June 2022 and June 2023, with savings even bigger in rural areas where fares dropped by almost 11%. Total Government investment to cap bus fares at £2 has now reached nearly £600 million.

Bus services in Aylesbury are set to dramatically change in August, when Arriva no longer runs services from its depot in the county town.

Red Line Buses is continuing to run its service between Aylesbury and Oxford via Thame, and transport between the county town and Wycombe, both journeys that are being discontinued by Arriva from 28 June.

Red Line Buses also announced plans to change its service between Aylesbury and Thame to add stops in Haddenham, now Arriva buses will no longer visit the village. It remains unknown how the group plans to deal with extra demand once Arriva buses stop completing these routes.