The present £2 fare has proved to be popular. But the fact is the funding is coming to an end. The options were to allow the fares to go back to where they otherwise would have been or increase by the amount announced. The increase to £3 per trip, is for me, as a very irregular user of buses, still considerably cheaper than £9 return I paid to a station a couple of years ago. For regular users, students and of course those of pensionable age, there are either discounted period tickets or a free pass. The alternative is a continued subsidy which comes from general taxation.