Free travel passes are up for grabs from a leading bus operator as it celebrates a three-month extension to the £2 capped single fare scheme.

Stagecoach, which runs services in many areas of the North East, announced over the weekend that more than 15 million passengers have taken advantage of the £2 single fare offer since its launch in England on January 1.

To mark the milestone, the operator has rewarded a lucky £2 fare customer with a year of free unlimited travel on its buses.

‘Bianca’, the first lucky winner, from Exeter, in Devon, already uses the Stagecoach Bus App to buy her ticket in advance of her commute to work.

Read more: £2 cap on bus fares in England extended

She was delighted with her new unlimited pass and plans to make more adventurous journeys to great new destinations.

As the £2 fare scheme has now being extended until June 30, the operator has revealed plans to reward more people for choosing to travel by its buses.

Passengers who buy a £2 single ticket on the Stagecoach Bus App, available on both Apple and Android, can win free travel passes during the next phase of the scheme.

One winner will be chosen at random from eligible customers in each of April, May and June.

The scheme, launched as part of the Government’s Help for Households Campaign, is offering maximum fares of just £2 for any single bus journey on eligible routes.

It is available on around 50,000 daily Stagecoach bus services across England, with 27-per cent of surveyed customers who used £2 singles saying that the scheme had directly increased their bus use.

Read more: All the North East bus operators providing capped £2 tickets in 2023

Carla Stockton-Jones, UK Managing Director of Stagecoach, said: “We are delighted that the £2 fare scheme has been extended until the end of June and to see that millions of people are already making the most of this great initiative.

“With the better weather approaching and winter behind us, there’s never been a better time to try the bus.

“With around ten million people in England living within walking distance of one of our bus stops, we’re hoping that people will take the opportunity to get out of their cars and give the bus a try for the bargain price of just £2 for a single ticket.” 

Stagecoach bus tickets can either be bought on the Stagecoach Bus App in advance of travel, or on the bus using contactless payment or cash.

The scheme means all adult, concession and child single tickets on eligible routes will be capped at £2, with any single tickets costing less remaining the same price.

A nationwide scheme in England, it is running in addition to other local fare schemes already in place in some areas.

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In order to qualify for the free travel pass prize, £2 bus fare cap single tickets must be bought on the Stagecoach Bus App between April 1 and June 30 using a registered Stagecoach account which is opted in to accept marketing contact by e-mail.

Winning entries will be selected randomly by Stagecoach, with one free travel pass awarded in each of April, May and June.

Stagecoach North East runs services in Newcastle, Sunderland, South Shields, Hartlepool and Teesside with a fleet of 437 buses and coaches.