THE £2 bus fare scheme has been extended until December 2024, and includes most services in Cumbria. 

Bus operators such as Blueworks, Cumbria Classic Coaches, Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire and Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire will be taking part in the fare cap extension. 

Network North, the official document outlining the government's strategy for public transport in the north of England after announcing that the HS2 project will not continue north of Birmingham, specifically mentions a Cumbria-Lancashire bus link that benefits from the fare extension. 

It states: "The £2 bus fare will no longer end in four weeks as planned - it will be extended until the end of 2024 across England. For a bus journey like the one from Lancaster to Kendal, this will save people £12.50 every time they travel." 

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Barrow MP Simon Fell said: "This is absolutely fantastic news and will make a huge difference for local people. Speaking to bus companies, I know that they are busier than ever as a result, and it's been the number one ask from organisations like the Job Centre and Cumbria Tourism recently. I'm delighted that ministers have listened to the calls from backbench MPs like me to keep it going." 

The South Lakes MP Tim Farron also welcomed the extension: "It's good news. It's a thing we have been campaigning for. It fits in with what the council has decided to do this week which is putting in £400,000 into subsiding closed down bus services."

However, Mr Farron did say that the announcement is tempered by the lack of access rural communities have to bus services and the poor availability of them. 

He said: "In my surgeries, one of the top three issues is busses, the price of them but also more the availability. Cheap bus fares are not that much use if there is no bus."