Cambridgeshire Mayor plans to treble tax precept

Dr Nik Johnson wants to charge Band D homes £36 a year to help improve local bus services.

That is up from £12 last year, and nothing the year before.

The mayoral precept was introduced in 2023 to provide a lifeline to buses that would have otherwise stopped running. 

Dr Johnson says the expected £11-million net budget will help fund route 5, connecting Peterborough and Yaxley, and improve services for Eye and Thorney.

It will also go towards improving bus stops and shelters across Cambridgeshire.

Mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Dr Nik Johnson:

"My argument is that for less than 10p a day per average household the Combined Authority can invest £11m per year in our bus network, enabling more routes and more frequent services, serving far more people more conveniently than is currently the case.

"What’s more, this will accompany a huge reduction in the price of travel for everyone under the age of 25, with bus fares cut in half from £2 to £1."

The mayor’s budget, which includes the suggested precept rise, will be debated by Combined Authority's board on 31st January 2024.

It doesn’t need to pass a vote to be implemented, but can be vetoed.