Labour is launching a petition to save the Tiger Bus Pass after the future of the successful initiative was thrown into doubt during the new Conservative Mayor’s first Combined Authority board meeting on Wednesday, 4th June.
During the meeting an emergency motion was brought forward by the Conservatives claiming that the Tiger Bus Pass was unsustainable in its current form and that it could only continue by scrapping the bus fare cap.
The free Tiger Bus Pass, which allows anyone under 25 to travel across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, by bus, for only £1 per journey was introduced by the previous Labour Mayor and his Deputy for Transport.
Cllr Anna Smith, former Deputy Mayor for Transport said:
“I was deeply disappointed when the Conservative Mayor chose to play politics by supporting a rushed motion which attempted to force the other members of the board to choose between the Tiger Bus Pass and cheaper fares for all.
The Tiger Pass makes a huge difference to people’s lives. When I speak with young people and their families across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, they always tell me what a huge difference the Tiger Pass makes to them.”
Since being introduced by Labour last year, the Tiger Bus Pass has been used to make over 1.5 million journeys, saving young people and their families hundreds of pounds every year.
The new Conservative Mayor promised to back the £1 Tiger Bus Pass fares during the mayoral election campaign. That promise is now in question, with the mayor saying that the current scheme is unaffordable. A last-minute paper brought to Wednesday’s meeting asked the board to choose between scrapping the current fare cap and saving the Tiger Pass.
However, following the announcement on Wednesday 11th June that the £3 bus fare cap will continue to be funded until 2027, Labour is calling for a clear commitment to protect both the Tiger Pass offering £1 fare and local bus budgets.
Local Labour representatives have rejected the suggestion that the Tiger Pass can only be saved by making other bus users pay higher fares. Labour members on the Combined Authority are calling for a detailed report exploring all of the options to be taken to the upcoming transport meeting on 25th June.
The Conservative Mayor has failed to explore underspent or unspent pots of money across the Combined Authority budget, in both the transport budget and across other departments.
Labour has launched an online petition calling on the Conservative Mayor to stop playing politics and keep his promise to save the Tiger Bus Pass and invest in our region.
I’m confident that through the additional funding for the £3 bus fare cap and by exploring other funding options we can protect a lifeline which helps young people get to education, training and jobs without penalising other bus passengers. - Cllr Anna Smith, former Deputy Mayor for Transport