Tiger Bus Pass petition ‘a misunderstanding’, says Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
Labour has launched a petition to ‘save’ the popular Tiger Bus Pass scheme – but the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority has responded to say it has misunderstood the situation.
The Tiger Pass, brought in during former Labour mayor Dr Nik Johnson’s tenure and since used on more than one million journeys, allows under- 25s to travel for £1 per journey.
But when the Combined Authority, under Dr Johnson’s leadership, set its budget for this financial year in March, it only allocated funding for the Tiger Pass until the autumn.
A board meeting on 4 June discussed the local bus fare cap and the Tiger Pass scheme, and members heard that “drastic action” was needed to keep the scheme going.
Fenland District Council leader, Conservative Cllr Chris Boden, put forward an emergency recommendation that would have seen bus fare cap money put towards the continuation of the existing Tiger Pass until March 2026 – a move backed by newly-elected Tory mayor Paul Bristow but ultimately not voted through by the board.
But a petition launched by Labour on 12 June urged Mr Bristow to “protect the Tiger Bus Pass”, claiming he refused to rule out cuts.
Labour’s Cllr Anna Smith, a former deputy mayor of the Combined Authority who lost out to Mr Bristow in May’s mayoral election, said: “I was deeply disappointed when the Conservative mayor chose to play politics by supporting a rushed motion which attempted to force the other members of the board to choose between the Tiger Bus Pass and cheaper fares for all.”
She added: “The reality is that there are a range of options available to the mayor to continue the Tiger Bus Pass while also continuing the fare cap. These include resource and cost sharing with external partners and reallocating currently uncommitted funding in the Combined Authority budget.”
Cllr Smith also said that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ announcement that the £3 bus fare cap would continue to be funded by the Treasury until at least 2027 was “extremely welcome and a huge boost” to local transport services.
Mr Bristow has previously confirmed his intentions to keep the Tiger Pass scheme going. He did not wish to respond to Labour’s claims.
But a Combined Authority spokesperson said: “There appears to be a misunderstanding in the press release regarding the situation and the decisions taken at the meeting.
“The budget set for this financial year, agreed in March, only allocated funding for the Tiger Pass until the autumn. At the recent board meeting, there was a clear and unanimous desire to retain the pass in a permanent form.
“However, any permanent scheme must be both sustainable and fully costed. The transport committee has therefore been asked to explore and evaluate viable options.”
Options will be presented to the transport and infrastructure committee on 25 June before it returns to the board in July.
