Councillors are recommending that a flat fee of £2 is charged for bus journeys in Powys.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Economy, Residents and Communities scrutiny committee on 6 November, the idea of a £2 bus ticket was floated by Cllr Pete Lewington.

A report before members explained that income from bus fares had gone up by £85,000 following a 10 per cent increase in ticket prices that kicked in on 1 April, 2024.

The report also showed that during 2024/2025 the number of passengers on buses supported by the council had been 649,394, with £1.66m taken in fares.

This is up on the 649,545 passengers in 2023/2024 that had generated £1.55m.

Cllr Pete Lewington noted that fee paying customers had fallen during the period while income from customers using a concession had gone up.

Cllr Lewington asked: “Do we think about reducing bus fares in future to get more people on to buses and public transport?”

Head of Highways Transport and Recycling John Forsey said: “There’s a balance of getting the price at an appropriate level and being able to support services.”

He added that the Welsh Government introducing £1 bus fares for 16 to 21-year-olds would “probably help” get more people to use public transport.

Cllr Lewington said: “Looking at the two years we’ve got there and I divide the fares by the numbers of passengers, it simplistically comes out at around a £2 fare.

“So, I just wonder if a flat £2 fee is something to consider – it could increase fare payers and make the whole system easier and lead to increased income.”

The committee agreed that the merits of a £2 flat bus fare should be “looked at” and will forward to Cabinet as a recommendation.