Graham has called on the Prime Minister to reverse his decision to increase the £2 bus fare cap by 50% to £3, a £500 tax on working people.
In a speech in the West Midlands yesterday, the Prime Minister confirmed reports in the media that the government would not maintain the £2 bus fare following its expiry in January, instead choosing to hike it by 50% to £3.
Graham launched a petition to save the £2 bus fare last week, and over 650 people have already signed his Fair Fares petition, available at www.grahamstuart.com/FairFares.
Graham is outraged, with working people using the buses to get to and from work facing a £480 annual increase in their commuting costs alone, not to mention going to and from the shops or visiting families.
He has long been a champion of bus travel, particularly the need for rural and coastal communities to be better connected.
He supported the Council’s efforts in improving the 75 bus timetable between Hull, Hedon and Withernsea last year and is working with Cllr Samantha Whyte (Mid Holderness, Con) to improve connectivity to and from Withernwick.
Graham Stuart MP said, “Working people are apparently at the heart of this government’s thinking, yet one of its first concrete acts is to increase the bus fare cap by 50%, costing working people in Beverley and Holderness more than £500 a year.
“It’s outrageous to assume that working people can just find that money behind the sofa and will only result in working people feeling the pinch even more.
“In less than a week, over 650 people have signed my petition to save the £2 Fair Fare for buses. I’ll continue to be a loud voice for the thousands of people in Beverley and Holderness who depend on buses.”
