£2.50, £2.90, or £3? New bus fares explained after price cap raised for students

Following the end of the £2 bus fare price cap in January, commuter fees for Warwick students have risen on all bus routes to campus.

Introduced in January 2023, the price cap imposed a maximum limit of £2 on single bus tickets for all public transport operators, with the government covering the resulting losses for bus companies.

This scheme was changed in October 2024 by the new Labour government, who instead raised the cap by half to £3.

Fees for commuters, including Warwick students, have gone up as a result, with the University’s two main service providers, Stagecoach and National Express Coventry, taking different approaches to the change.

Our single fares will be cheaper than the government’s £3 single fare cap and all of our other fares remain unchanged – providing a range of great value tickets and passes to suit our customers’ needs

National Express spokesperson

National Express, who runs services from campus to Coventry including the 11 Electric and the 14, has implemented a blanket increase for single fares to £2.90.

Speaking to The Boar, a spokesperson for the operator was keen to stress the new fare’s status as being 10p cheaper than the government limit.

They said: “Bus is by far the most popular form of public transport across the West Midlands and we are proud to provide affordable bus travel for passengers across Coventry and the wider West Midlands communities that we serve.

“From 5 January our single fares will be cheaper than the government’s £3 single fare cap and all of our other fares remain unchanged – providing a range of great value tickets and passes to suit our customers’ needs.”

All other fees by the operator, including return tickets and season passes, have remained unchanged, providing some relief to students.

Stagecoach, who runs bus services including the U1, U2, and X17 from campus to student hub Royal Leamington Spa, has taken a more complex approach to raising commuter fees.

The £2 fare was only viable with support from the government and isn’t sustainable otherwise

Chris Child, Stagecoach Midlands spokesperson

From 1 January, the operator has instituted a zone system, dividing Leamington into an area separate from surrounding destinations including the University.

For all journeys within either zone, a new single ticket will cost £2.50. This includes trips from campus to Kenilworth, or from Leamington to Warwick.

Any journey that crosses the two zones – most notably, travelling from campus to Leamington and vice versa – will now stand at £3.

Speaking to The Boar, Chris Child, a spokesperson for Stagecoach Midlands, sought to justify the increase: “The £2 fare was only viable with support from the government and isn’t sustainable otherwise.”

He urged students and staff commuting from Leamington Spa to purchase a UniRider bus pass: “Our UniRider passes continue to provide exceptional value with travel costing from just £1.30 a day, offering students and staff at Warwick University a really low-cost travel option.”

Additionally, he pointed out recent improvements to Stagecoach’s fleet in the area, saying: “We are committed to giving the best customer experience, and people can see we have invested in new electric buses as part of the Coventry All Electric City scheme.

“These provide smoother, quieter journeys, as well as top-spec amenities including USB charging, free Wi-Fi, high-spec passenger information systems, and enhanced wheelchair and buggy space.”

Predictably, changes to the bus fare regime have been met with dismay from students.

An investigation by The Boar in November found many readers would travel less to campus as a result of the fare raise. One confirmed: “I’ll only go in if necessary. If I have only one lecture which I can catch up on at home, I probably won’t go into uni.”

Other responses to the rise were more grim, encapsulated by one second-year who quipped: “I’m poor, so I guess I will eat less.”