Fares on Britain’s most scenic bus route will rise from £4 to £25 under Reeves cuts

Before its potential closure in January last year, the 840 was voted the UK’s most scenic route in an online poll organized by Bus Users UK in 2018.

The introduction of the £2 fare cap saved the route, which benefited from a resurgence in demand for breaks and bus tours.

Burley said: “It just took off. The 840’s profile was already high, but it was now also much more affordable. Some people wrote to us saying they had just gotten on the bus and were total converts.”

The route passes through York and the market towns of Malton and Pickering before climbing onto the North York Moors, where it passes through Goathland, which doubled for the fictional village of Aidensfield in the 1960s-set crime drama Heartbeat and remains a major attraction for tourists.

From there it heads down to the coast at Whitby, with its busy harbor, award-winning fish and chip shops and a ruined abbey that inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula.

Other scenic routes that have seen a surge in popularity since the fare cap was introduced face an equally worrying future if it expires in December.

Although industry and Whitehall sources suggest that Reeves will initially increase the limit to £2.50 and then £3, it is expected to disappear completely by early 2026.

Rural services will be much more affected than urban ones, predicts the Passenger Transport Confederation trade group, as the level of subsidy required is much higher.

Stagecoach service 555, which takes more than three hours to travel the 50 miles between the city of Lancaster and Keswick in northwest Cumbria through the heart of the Lake District, is so famous it has its own Wikipedia entry.

Passenger numbers on the 555, operated by open-top double-decker vehicles, have increased by 10% this year, although tourist numbers at the national park have declined by 10%. This growth is unlikely to be sustained if the cap is removed and the previous fares of £11 each way are reintroduced.