IN November the chancellor of the Exchequer announced a 50 per cent increase in the bus fare cap from £2 to £3.

But Clare Stone, chairman of Buses4Us, a community action group that runs the Daffodil Line bus service that straddles the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire borders, believes this move by the Government is shortsighted because keeping the bus fare cap as it currently is, would have continued to encourage bus use and reduce pollution.

Ms Stone, who formed the action group when Stagecoach axed the regular Ross Newent and Ledbury service, said that affordable public transport should not be a postcode lottery and added: “But once again, it is. And it is likely that rural communities like ours are worst hit.”

She said that not all bus operators are raising prices: Transport for London has announced that it will be keeping bus fares in the capital below £2 per single journey as is the authority in Greater Manchester.

“So what will be happening to the fares on the Daffodil line you might ask?” Ms Stone said.

“Well, nothing just yet. We will be keeping out current fare structure and the £2 single journey until the end of the financial year in April,” she added.

“But before we do anything we would like to hear from our passengers. If we raise fares how will this affect you? Would you be willing and able to pay a little more? Or will an increase in fares mean you would use the bus less?

We are going to be starting a conversation about this. What would be a ‘fair ‘ fare for your journey?

The 232 Daffodil Line was created in April 2023 and has gone from strength to strength as it connects Ross-with Newent, Dymock, Much Marcle and Ledbury,

The route is named after the former Ledbury to Gloucester train line which cut across the area known for Britain’s best wild daffodil display.

Ms Stone obtained funding of £35,000 a year from Gloucestershire County Council with the help of the authority’s transport cabinet member Cllr Philip Robinson. This sum was matched by Herefordshire Council along with town and parish councils along the bus route which also contributed to the operation of 232 which has a two-hourly service between Ross and Ledbury seven days a week.

Ms Stone pointed out that costs in running the rural service are rising, fuel costs, wages and National Insurance are all going up.

“Do our fares need to do the same?” she asks. “It’s a dilemma. We want to do the right thing, and we’d like to talk about it before making a decision.”

Ms Stone concluded: “So please drop us an email, via the website daffodilline.co.uk with your thoughts. Be assured that nothing will change until next April.”

According to the New Economics Foundation, economists and environmentalist believe that increasing the bus cap makes little sense as keeping the fare cap at £2 equates to only a tenth of the money the Government will spend on keeping the fuel duty cap.