A bus company is capping single fares at a maximum of £2 per journey as part of national government initiative.

From New Year's Day until March 31 around 50,000 Stagecoach bus services a day, across the UK, will offer the discount to help attract new customers.

Stagecoach hope the new fare scheme will encourage people to ditch their cars and try the bus over the winter months.

With people up and down the country facing the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis, many can save money whilst choosing a more sustainable method of transport.

A recent report by Stagecoach found that motorists replacing some journeys by bus and active travel could save them up to £6,000 a year.

In addition, the report found that having the right measures in place to encourage people to make the switch, including cheaper fares, could help remove one billion miles of car journeys each week and cut CO2 by nearly 400,000 tonnes per week.

The government scheme also reflects the current pressure on the costs of running bus services, which has seen utility costs increased by more than 40% since 2019-20, with the price of tyres increasing by 18% in the same period.

Carla Stockton-Jones, UK managing director for Stagecoach said: “We are pleased to be involved in this new initiative by the Department for Transport, which will help so many people at a time where money needs to stretch further and at the same time aims to reduce car use and encourage people onto more sustainable public transport.

“We already offer some of the lowest ticket prices in the country with the average price of a weekly Stagecoach ticket in England being less than £18 per week or £2.60 per day.

"We hope that this new promotion helps more people to get on board with us, and continue benefitting from our value-for-money tickets after the government scheme has ended.

“However, fares are just one tool that can make buses more attractive.

"We also need a focus on priority measures which will keep buses out of congestion, speed up journey times, help keep fares low, and ensure buses are reliable, factors which we know are important for passengers and which we are actively working with local and national governments on.”

The scheme means all adult, concession and child single tickets on eligible routes will be capped at £2, with any single tickets previously cheaper than this remaining the same price.

For more information, terms and conditions and exclusions, click here.

Stagecoach has helped to reduce the cost of bus travel with the introduction of a range of flexible tickets, which offer big savings on bundles of tickets, for example, 10 DayRiders for the price of seven.

Coach company Chalkwell has also signed up to the scheme.

The company, which serves Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey, already offers unlimited one-day youth tickets (aged 11-19) across Swale for £3, Swale and Medway for £4 and Ashford for £5 with weekly and monthly season tickets available.

Unlimited adult saver tickets are £4.50 for Swale and £6 for travel across Swale and Medway.