Mayor Dr Nik Johnson not only knocked on the head a proposed rise in his Mayoral precept for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough but also revealed an “unprecedented” Government windfall to enable the £2 bus fare cap to be extended beyond April.
“I am proposing to maintain the Mayoral general precept at an annual charge of £36 for a band D property; this would raise around £11.2m in 2025-26,” he said.
He also disclosed that the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority has received Bus Service Improvement Programme (BSIP) funding of an “unprecedented £3.4m revenue and £6.6m capital injection for the year ahead.
“This, in addition to the cumulative value of various underspends means that we have the financial capacity to continue investing in the types of service improvements and expansions that residents support without placing an additional fiscal burden upon them”.
Our spending plans for 2025 are live. From keeping bus fares low & protecting the #TigerBusPass, to boosting skills & celebrating our heritage – we’re building a better future for Cambs & Peterborough.
➡️ Read more: https://t.co/WAHIQHioQk #Budget2025 @NikJohnsonCA pic.twitter.com/x6ZIcWVMcc— Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (@CambsPboroCA) January 15, 2025
The decision to use an estimated £1m to fund the £2 bus fare to the end of March was agreed in December after the Government said that, nationally, it would raise to £3.
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However, the short-term extension of the £2 cap to March 2025 was not a unanimous decision of the Combined Authority, with both Conservative members – Cllr Anna Bailey of East Cambridgeshire and Cllr Chris Boden of Fenland Council – opting to abstain.
At the same meeting, the Mayor raised the prospect of a modest 4.99 per cent rise in the precept (resulting in a Band D equivalent of £37.80) but that is no longer considered necessary.
Mayor Johnson insists all Mayoral precept money is being well spent, and he offered a reminder that in late 2022/23 it was the Combined Authority that “stepped in to rescue 23 bus routes that the then bus operator felt no longer capable of running”.
“Our choice was either see communities cut off from the rest of the region or find a way to invest in saving what for many is an essential public service. That’s why we introduced the £1 per month Mayoral precept”.
He said: “Last year I made the case for increasing the precept to £3 per month for the purposes of investing £11m per year in the region’s bus network and as of this month 80 per cent of new, enhanced, and protected mayoral precept funded bus services are up and running, serving residents and communities across the region.
“I also argued for a huge reduction in the price of travel for everyone under the age of 25, with bus fares cut in half from £2 to £1 via what has proven to be the very successful Tiger Pass.
“I did so as the collective benefits of a better and more affordable bus network vastly outweigh the increased cost to households, with quality public transport helping unclog our roads, clean up our air, and massively increase equal access to the wealth of social and economic opportunities that our region presents.
“In my view, that’s a price worth paying.”
Mayor Johnson added: “Nevertheless, I have said before that I do not take any increase in costs to the residents of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough lightly and am therefore minded to freeze the mayoral precept at its current rate for the 25/26 municipal year.”
The Combined Authority board – when it meets on January 22 – will also consider a report from Janice Gotts, executive director resources and Kate McFarlane, director of policy, and engagement.
As part of their work on the budget and financial planning they explain the cost implications of retaining the £2 fare cap beyond April.
They point out that the 3 month extension is now forecast to cost £1.6m and not £1m which is being funded from BSIP underspend.
“This change in cost is primarily driven by further analysis of costs by the main operator which indicates that a significant number of journeys cost £3 or more, placing the average fare level at around £2.75 – which is higher than first indicated,” says the report.
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“To meet the commitment of the Combined Authority to the £2 fare cap, the additional cost estimated as £0.6m will be the first call on any transport underspend in 2024-25.
“Moving forward, the board is asked to approve ringfencing the recently announced 2025-26 BSIP revenue grant of £3.456m (excluding £125k allocated for capacity funding) to fund a continuation of the single journey fare cap beyond April 2025.
“In order to support a decision on the cap, further work has been undertaken with operators to understand the costs of applying either a £2 fare cap or one at £2.50 within the available BSIP resources.”
Based on journey numbers and cost base data figures suggest the BSIP grant would enable continuation of the £2 cap from April to June 2025, with a £2.50 cap to be in place from July to the end of December 2025 – at which time the national fare cap is due to end.
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This would result in a forecast cost of £3.226m, against the BSIP grant of £3.456m.
“It is recognised that this provides little headroom should there be an underestimation of the actual cost and the position would be kept under review during the year,” says their report.
The board will be told that if BSIP funding were not used for the fare cap, it would otherwise be available to deliver further bus service improvements in 2025-26 “such as more real-time information screens across the network and enhanced better bus stop information and improvements and investment into bus services”.
