£1 bus fares every day of the year could one day be a reality in Southampton as increased bus patronage means less need for city council subsidy.
The idea came as a Green Party petition, which garnered more than 1,000 signatures, made it to the council’s overview scrutiny and management committee (OSMC) for discussion.
Green party members Katherine Barbour, Helen Makrakis and Jonathan Bean, who are all standing in May’s (2023) election, accepted that the scheme ‘may not be affordable today’ – but ‘at a future date’.
The cost to the council a year would be £3.7m – and this doesn’t include the current £5m+ already being spent on concession subsidies. To make matters harder, the council did not receive a share of the DfT’s (Department for Transport) bus grant in 2021 – and another application is yet to open.
Despite the multi-million-pound figure being called ‘phenomenally expensive’ and ‘not remotely affordable’ by Tory deputy leader Councillor Jeremy Moulton, an idea arose in the meeting that could help make the £1 bus fares possible.
Makrakis: The footfall will pay for itself
Ms Makrakis, who spent part of the meeting calling on the cabinet member for transport, Councillor Eamonn Keogh, to focus on resubmitting a DfT bid (when the time comes), spoke about how the financing of the scheme could work – and the unique opportunity the city has to prove itself to the DfT.
She said,
“The footfall on the buses in the evening on the £1 fare (current scheme) has proven to be successful.
“We’ve proven that the footfall can work.
“Why can’t we get funding for the footfall? We might find ourselves in a situation where we can relinquish having to give them (the bus companies) money because the footfall will pay for itself.”
DfT money can be used to subsidise £1 fares
The Greens’ hope is that if DfT money can be used to subsidise £1 bus fares, bus use will go up so much that the operators will make more money and will not need council subsidies in the future and that therefore greater passenger numbers will bring the cost of bus travel down for all – including the council.
Ms Makrakis told councillors that Southampton is in a position where it has already proven to the DfT that ‘it can work’, through £1 evening bus fares – and with the DfT’s initial help, she believes the city can do it again.
Cllr Keogh said that getting more bus funding is the council’s ‘ambition’.
Ms Makrakis also took the opportunity to express the need for helping those most in need.
Makrakis: “A tale of two cities”
The Portswood candidate spoke about Southampton being a tale of two cities and said,
“Southampton is a very diverse city and that is something we can be proud of – but the opportunities are also very diverse.
“We have people who are able to afford a trip to Europe or go further a field using our airport; we also have people able to afford to travel worldwide on a cruise ship down on the docks – and then we have people who are not even able to afford a trip across the city.
“The chasm between affordability and what you can and can’t do has really shown up in the last tough few years.
“The cost of living means that people (and usually families) can’t afford to travel as they want to.
“It makes your life more bearable if you can get out a few times a week to catch up with friends and do something every day. It’s the difference between quality of life and just ticking by.”
OSMC voted to make several recommendations to the cabinet, to offer £1 bus funding to everyone if the funding opportunity arises and to attempt to maximise any future bus grants.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
