£1 cap on bus fares for young people

Anthony Lewis Local Democracy Reporter

There will soon be a £1 cap on bus fares for all young people aged 5-21 in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) ahead of a national rollout.

Bus fares for all 5 to 21 year olds in RCT will be capped at a maximum cost of £1 for a single journey from September 1 and this will apply during September and October 2025.

The RCT scheme uses funding that has been secured from UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund and comes before the scheme is fully rolled out as a national Welsh Government initiative from November.

Welsh Government will introduce the £1 initiative for 16 to 21-year-olds, applying across all of Wales for a year, starting from September 1.

Initiative

All people in this age group, including when travelling in Rhondda Cynon Taf, will need to show their ‘My Travel Pass’ to take advantage of the £1 travel offer from September 1.

Welsh Government will then extend the initiative to everyone under the age of 21, from November 2.

RCT Council’s local scheme runs from September 1 to November 1 so it means all 5 to 15-year-olds travelling in Rhondda Cynon Taf will receive the offer two months early.

No ID is required for the 5 to 15-year-old age group and they will only need to buy a child single ticket to their destination which will cost no more than £1 for all single individual journeys that start and end within Rhondda Cynon Taf.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund has been allocated to councils to help introduce initiatives that will reduce the cost of living for residents through measures that improve energy efficiency, and combat fuel poverty and climate change.