I was having a cup of tea at home when I first heard on the radio that the bus fare cap is going up from £2 to £3 per journey.
I assumed it was a discussion, a debate, rather than the bad news that could financially cripple me.
It didn’t feel real – but it was. The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed it as she delivered the Autumn Budget, even announcing that she was going to ‘protect’ this new cap until 2025.
I’m a single mum and I don’t drive. Buses are how I take my two young children to and from school. They are how we get to visit family, so my children can spend time with their cousins.
Before this year, I used to spend £60 a month for bus travel – roughly a third of my budget after food and bills. That figure has already been going up as I go to job fairs to try and find work.
But this increase in the bus fare cap is going to make travelling almost impossible.
An increase of just £1 might not seem like a lot to many people, but it is devastating for me financially, and emotionally.
Keeping the cap at £2 would mean that I can afford to buy milk, bread and put some money in my electricity meter.
In short, heating and eating for my children and I.
The cost of living crisis has already been crippling. Two years ago, to try and save money, I started buying less and less food.
My kids understood that their favourite foods weren’t regular, but rare treats dependent on how much money we had.
What I did buy was mainly unhealthy and pre-prepared meals to save money – I worried about not giving my children the nourishing meals they need to grow and made me feel helpless.
This year – I even stopped attending vital medical appointments so I don’t have to spend any more on travel, worsening myself.
It’s got so bad that I’m selling things like clothes and other household items just to raise a few pounds.
As a single mother, every penny counts, I am doing everything I can think of to both save and raise money. It’s all for the sake of my children. I don’t want them to grow up feeling like they are from a poor household, but it’s getting harder and harder to protect them.
This bus fare rise makes that even more difficult, and it isn’t like we’re getting good service.
Where I live, I am fortunate to have quite a few local buses but in order to travel further, I can end up taking multiple buses and going back on myself.
Services around my town centre are unreliable, and that has a knock-on effect on my ability to make appointments and find work.
Previously, when this happened, I would get a taxi, but I simply can’t afford it anymore.
It’s not just about reliability, I often feel unsafe on buses and have been attacked and threatened before.
And paying more isn’t going to improve safety. Nor do I believe the extra money I pay will lead to better routes or more seats.
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The fare cap rise also can’t be justified by explanations like it will help create better routes, or provide more seats in rush hour.
While I am currently in receipt of Universal Credit, I am also actively seeking employment – but I don’t receive extra money for the travel to job interviews and other employment events.
My volunteering is also important to me. I volunteer at my local kids club, not only because I enjoy giving back to my community, but also so my CV can show how employable I am.
All of this is now under threat from the bus fare rise. Frankly, I already think it is unfair that unemployed people have to pay full fare in any case, but at least the £2 cost felt almost manageable.
I’m sure car-drivers will be happy that Reeves is freezing fuel duty but it feels like this reward comes at the cost of punishing public transport users like me.
This may be a new government, but it still feels like Reeves and other ministers either don’t know or don’t care what it’s like to survive for someone like me.
Nothing announced in the Budget felt like it would have a positive impact for families like mine. We are already the ones bearing the brunt of the cuts to services and inadequate social security support.
There are only so many times they can talk about economic growth without addressing the poverty faced by millions of children across the country, which they have failed to address directly.
If I could speak to the Chancellor, I would ask her to travel a mile in my shoes – if she can afford the higher fare.
Faith is a parent taking part in Changing Realities, a collaboration between parents and carers living on a low-income, researchers at University of York and Child Poverty Action Group.
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