A SHARP rise in the cost of bus tickets has left passengers in East Cornwall wondering how they can afford to travel.

People have seen the cost of their journey increase to up to three times this month as compared to the end of 2024.

A government price cap of £2 on single journeys has now increased to £3. And bus operator Go Cornwall Bus says a £23.5m grant from the Department for Transport to fund reduced fares in Cornwall is now running out.

Nick Schemanoff has four grandchildren in St Ann’s Chapel who travel to school in Tavistock.

Their fare has risen from £1.80 return to £5 (from Asda petrol station) – or from £2 to £6 from the village centre.

“To be honest, it's now way way cheaper to drive them there, which kind of conflicts with the green agenda to reduce emissions.

“I think about 15-20 students are affected. We’ve spoken with taxi companies and the community bus to see if they could help.

”The fare hike is not just affecting schoolchildren, as another local resident pointed out. It’s the same for anyone who uses the buses to get to work or hospital appointments, the increase in price sure adds up for regular users – and they don't want us driving cars.”

Under the Bus Fare Pilot scheme in Cornwall, bus operators have been reimbursed the difference between the fare that the public pay and what they would have charged in the absence of the pilot.

Go Cornwall Bus said: “Over the last two years, more than 8.7m discounted tickets have been sold. However, funding for the pilot is beginning to run out and it is likely that fares will return to their commercial value at the end of 2025.”

Some discounts would remain in place this year, said the operator, such as the Cornwall monthly child fare (£65).

The ‘Tap and Cap’ contactless scheme means that anyone using the same contactless payment device when they get on and off the bus will see their fare capped at no more than the cost of a daily (£6) or weekly (£24) ticket, no matter how many journeys they take.

The paper has contacted the bus operator about the options for children travelling by bus to school across the Devon/Cornwall border but had not had a reply at the time of publishing.

Cornwall Council said that it is now waiting to hear the outcome of a £13.3m bid for UK Government National Bus Strategy funding to continue improving services in the county.

Cornwall Councillor for Callington and St Dominic Andrew Long said: “I am disappointed that Go Cornwall Bus have decided on the increases, but the blame lies firmly with the current Cornwall Council administration and the past and present UK Governments.

“We want to encourage people to use the buses and trains but make fares so extortionate that they cannot afford to use them. Both Cornwall Council and the UK Government need to invest properly in a system that will work.”

PEOPLE have seen a sharp rise in the cost of bus travel this month (photo Geof Sheppard, Wikimedia Commons)