Brylaine Travel and Stagecoach offering £2 capped fares for Spalding area for 2023

Travelling by bus will become a lot cheaper for some residents next year.

From January, single fares in Lincolnshire and beyond will be capped at £2, cutting the cost of many journeys.

For example, a £5 adult fare from Spalding to Peterborough will cost less than half that usual price, with a return seeing travellers charged £4 - less than a normal single ticket.

This scheme - promoted by the Government - will run for the first three months of the year.

George Scott, chairman of the Spalding and Peterborough Transport Forum, welcomed the move, but fears more needs to be done to encourage people to use the services more regularly.

“I hope it encourages people to travel by bus,” he said.

“But I’d like to see an improvement in the timetables.

“I’d like to see more people using the buses but it depends where you want to go. If you’re going to hospital, for example, you need to make sure you can get there in time for an appointment and get home the same day.

“I’d also like to see an improvement to the village bus services. If they were better it would encourage more people to use them.”

A statement, issued by bus firm Brylaine - which operates in and around the Spalding area - suggested 2023 would be the ideal time for some people to see what buses have to offer.

“This could mean great savings for families and commuters on longer or higher fare trips,” it read.

“If your daily return journey is over £4 you will be able to save money on your bus fares this winter.

“We’ve worked with the Department for Transport, who have been incredibly supportive in ensuring we can activate this campaign for you in Lincolnshire; making sure we bring rural communities and families access to the same cost of living support as those using bus services in the cities.

“Our hope is that it will take away some of the financial pressures faced by our passengers this winter.

“If you don’t use the bus then try making the change. Even if its just once a week.”

The fare cap will operate from January 3 until March 31.

A full list of the operators taking part in the Government scheme next year can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/2-bus-fare-cap