Travel further for less with our £3 fare cap

The £3 Fare will run until December 2025

Metrobus will be offering cheaper fares to local residents, capped at £3 on all single fare bus journeys.

This means that passengers can expect to make big savings from longer bus routes. For example, the 270 route between East Grinstead and Brighton is capped at £3.

The initiative will help millions of passengers with travel costs for work, education, and essential journeys.

£3 fares | FAQs

What exactly is the £3 bus fares cap?
• The cost of a single bus fare will be a maximum of £3. This is being funded by the Government to help ease cost of living pressures.
• The cap will help people save money on their travel costs and will encourage more people to choose buses for local journeys and beyond.

What journeys does it cover?
• The £3 single fare will cover all journeys by participating bus operators. Brighton & Hove and Metrobus is participating, so any journey you take on our services will be included.
• On routes where return fares are available, these will be reduced to a maximum of £6.

Is there a maximum distance?
• No, there isn’t a maximum distance, but the cap only covers local buses – it doesn’t cover inter-city coach journeys.

Is every bus company taking part?
• No. A list of all bus companies taking part is available here.

What payment methods are included? You can pay for the £3 fare in the following ways:
• Using Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay or Google Pay to tap on, tap off the bus
• Buying a special £3 single ticket on our app, which must be activated less than 15 minutes before boarding the bus
• Using Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay or Google Pay to buy multiple tickets from the driver
• Cash on the bus

My usual fare is below £3. Does this mean it will go up to £3?
• No, all fares are £3 or less.

Does this cap cover child fares as well as adult fares?
• Yes.

I have a concessionary ticket and get free/discounted travel. Will I have to pay £3?
• Nobody will pay more than they usually do for a journey. If you were previously paying less than £3, or if your journey was free of charge, nothing changes.

If fares are capped, do I still have to ‘tap off’ when I get off the bus as well as ‘tap on’?
• Yes, you still need to tap off and tap on, in order to ensure we can calculate the correct fare.

What happens if I change buses – do I have to pay £3 twice?
• Yes, you do. The fare cap only applies to a journey on a single bus.

When does the £3 fare cap end?
• The £3 fare cap agreement lasts until the end of December 2025.