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<p>Passengers deserve punctual and reliable journeys at a fair price, which is why
we are investing billions into modernising the network. The new Great British Railways
structure also aims to tackle the previous overspecification, gold-plating and disconnected
decision making that inhibited improvements for passengers and pushed up costs across
the sector, which were ultimately reflected in rising fares.</p><p> </p><p>There are
a number of railcards available that offer discounts against most rail fares. We have
saved a generation of passengers at least a third off their fares through the 16-17
and 26-30 railcards and went even further in November 2020 by extending these savings
to former servicemen and women through a new Veterans Railcard.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We
also recognised the need to accommodate more flexible work and travel patterns due
to the impact of COVID-19 on commuters. This is why we have introduced flexible season
tickets across England this year, tickets launched on 21 June and became available
for use on 28 June.</p><p> </p><p>Buses are at the centre of our public transport
network, helping to connect people to places of employment. Our Bus Back Better strategy
set out that we want to see more low, flat fares in towns and cities, lower point-to-point
fares elsewhere, and more daily price capping everywhere. At the Budget we announced
£1.2 billion of new dedicated bus funding to deliver improvements in fares, services
and infrastructure over this Parliament.</p><p> </p>
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