With the announcement on Thursday that Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is bringing forward plans to help reduce bus fares, Bolton residents have given their thoughts.

The fares are set to be reduced in September this year, with single adult tickets across any service being capped at £2, child single tickets capped at £1 and unlimited dayrider tickets which work across different providers being £5.

These measures were set to be implemented in autumn next year, but they have been brought forward to help people with the cost-of-living crisis.

Bolton residents gave their thoughts on the changes and on what effects they would have.

Adam Cope, aged 29, from Great Lever, who is a bus driver, thought the price change would be welcomed.

He said: “The fare change is fair because prices have been going mental. The prices have only been going up and up.

“It will be a welcome relief.”

One user of the buses in Bolton, Charles Dara, aged 29 from Tonge Moor, believes the buses in the area are more expensive compared to other regions.

He said: “It’s expensive around here. I’m from London and you normally pay about £1.50 for a bus there, so you don’t pay £2 for any bus in London.”

Charles, who would usually pay around £2.50 for a bus ticket for his journey in Bolton, commented on the price change.

He said: “It’s nice in a way but 50p won’t make a big difference.”

Another bus user, Zanira Mohammed Salih, aged 29 from Heaton, gave her thoughts on the changes.

She said: “If I want to go to college, I could use the any bus ticket. To get there I use two buses, one Stagecoach and one Diamond, which costs me £6.40 return.

“So now I’ll be able to use the any bus ticket.”

Read more: Andy Burnham brings forward plans to cap bus fares in Bolton

The bus fare change is subject to agreement with government and bus operators, but if it goes ahead then there are significant savings to be made by consumers.

For example, if your ticket usually costs £2.50, you’d be saving a fifth of the previous price at £2.