Free bus fares scrapped for now in funding crisis
FREE bus travel plans have been shelved for now, after the Environment Department failed to find the money needed to fund the proposal.
The bus fare was meant to be scrapped in April, making way for free public travel and a more frequent service.
But the department has been in urgent talks with Treasury and Resources about funding the new contract, after the States threw out width and emissions charges last month, which were meant to support free bus travel.
The departments have decided to press on with the new contract with CT Plus, but to fund it the current fare will have to remain in place.
As it stands, the department will have to find another £300,000 from within its current budget to pay the extra costs of the improved service, which might have been earmarked for other services.
