Bus fare hikes will cost commuters across Chichester area

Analysis by the Liberal Democrats shows that the average commuter in the Chichester District who takes the bus every working day of the week could face an extra £448 bill because of the change made by the government.

That is the equivalent of paying £5,420 in income tax a year, 9% higher than the £4,972 a median earner on £37,430 a year would pay.

Local Liberal Democrats are calling for the rise to be reversed and the £2 bus cap to remain in place to protect bus commuters from suffering more financial pain.

“The government’s bus tax looks set to clobber commuters and bus users here in Chichester. It is the last thing people in our area need after the years of Conservative economic vandalism we have been forced to suffer,” said Chichester’s Liberal Democrat MP, Jess Brown-Fuller.

“It is a decision that will make it more expensive for people just to get on with their everyday lives and will just add to the misery for motorists on our already congested roads,” said Jess, noting that people using public transport in Selsey, the Witterings, Pagham and Bersted rely on buses as they have no direct access to trains.

“Encouraging more people to use public and sustainable transport is one of the only ways left to improve the situation on our roads now that the government appears to have shelved plans to upgrade the A27. To make bus travel more expensive in this area is crazy, especially for large communities on the coast who must travel away from the coast to access work, secondary schooling and further education and have no access to trains until they have reach Chichester by bus or car. A 50% rise in bus fares will only make the lives of people here harder by increasing their costs and further blocking our already congested roads,” she said.

"Chichester District Council and West Sussex Council recently proposed plans to improve bus travel in and around Chichester, to encourage greater use of public transport, the introduction of electric buses and the reduction of cars cutting through the centre of the city and clogging up the A27. While local authorities are working hard to improve our roads and pollution, a much more concerted effort is needed by the government to create a step change in sustainable travel," said Jess.