Labour group and Tory mayor row over £1 Tiger pass scheme extension

A mayor of a combined authority has defended his plans to extend a bus pass scheme ahead of a final decision being made.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) mayor Paul Bristow has defended his plans to extend the Tiger Pass scheme after the local Labour Group put forward an alternative.

A CPCA board meeting will take place today, where members will vote on Mr Bristow’s proposal to end the local bus fare cap early and use the money to extend the popular Tiger Pass scheme in the county.

The current Tiger Pass scheme was introduced in May last yeat to support access to affordable bus travel for people under 25 across the county through £1 single fares, but its budget is forecast to run out in November.

Mr Bristow proposes to end the local bus fare cap from September 1, instead of December in order to free up £1.4m to continue the Tiger Pass scheme until March 31, 2026.

Around £300,000 would also be drawn from the combined authority’s Passenger Transport Operational Reserve.

For passengers, this would mean a £2.50 single journey cost for July and August 2025 would increase to £3 from September 1 in line with the national cap.

Ahead of the board meeting, where representatives from all Cambridgeshire councils will vote on the proposal, the local Labour Group proposed an alternative way to fund the Tiger Pass.

The group claimed that reallocating underspends from other budgets alongside using ‘freed-up funds from internal changes at the combined authority’ would keep bus fares lower up to the end of the year and save residents over £1.4 million in total.

Cllr Dennis Jones, Labour leader of Peterborough City Council, said: “We want to make sure the Tiger Pass is funded properly going forward – but that shouldn’t mean making cuts that could cost a family with two working parents relying on our local buses up to £160.

“Labour asked Mayor Bristow to look at the finances again, and unfortunately, he was unable to find a solution. But we have been able to do so.

“By making savings from consistently underspent budgets and using savings from reduced internal operating costs, we can keep the bus fare cap firmly in place until the originally planned end date.”

In response, Mr Bristow said: “To date we have not even seen Labour’s amendment, but somehow they have the time to issue a press release. It just proves these Labour leaders are not being serious.

“It was a Labour mayor that didn’t fund the Tiger Pass properly and a Labour government that hiked the bus fare cap. With or without Labour board colleagues, the rest of the Combined Authority Board will do what it takes to save the Tiger Pass.”

The CPCA Board is also recommended to approve a strategic objective for a more sustainable, long term subsidy for a new permanent Tiger Pass.

Cllr Anna Smith, Labour’s CPCA board representative from Cambridge City Council, said: “We don’t have to choose between funding the Tiger Pass and protecting the bus fare cap, which so many people across our region rely on to travel to work.

“It would be wrong to pull the rug out from under their feet by scrapping it early – people need to be able to plan their finances.”