A false claim about a new government policy of “free bus fares for immigrants” is being shared on social media.

The post, which originates from TikTok where it has been shared more than a thousand times, shows a picture of Keir Starmer in Parliament with superimposed text saying: “It’s obvious now why bus fares are going up to £3. Shortly after they announced free bus fares for immigrants You pay for it (sic) the journey”.

But a claim in the post (which has also been shared on Facebook) that the government has announced free bus fares for “immigrants”, is not true. It is true that the ceiling for bus fares is increasing from £2 to £3 in January 2025.

While there is no nationwide scheme providing migrants with free bus travel, there have been short-term pilots in some areas to offer free bus travel to asylum seekers, including a previous scheme in Northern Ireland and a planned program in Oxford.

And the London Assembly passed a motion calling on the mayor to introduce travel vouchers for asylum seekers and the Scottish Government has said it will revive plans for free bus travel for asylum seekers in 2026.

When Full Fact contacted the Home Office about the viral posts, a spokesperson said via email: “This is not true.”

There is no reference in the autumn budget for possible funding of subsidized or free travel for “immigrants”.

Also, free bus travel for immigrants was not mentioned by chancellor Rachel Reeves in its budget figure to the House of Commons on October 30.

The bus fare cap of £2 was already should be ready by the end of this year, and £3 is effectively a new cap that will apply from January to December 2025.

System that provides free bus travel for asylum seekers

Although the government has not put forward any proposals for free travel for immigrants in line with what was claimed in the post, six month pilot ran in Northern Ireland from November 2023 where asylum seekers were given travel cards for free public transport.

And on November 6, Oxfordshire County Council also announced it was partnering with a charity and bus company in Oxford to trial a six-month pilot program that would allow free bus travel for asylum seekers living in the city.

The 7th of November The London Assembly agreed on a motion calls on the Mayor of London to work with London boroughs, voluntary organizations and the NHS “in ways of supporting public transport for asylum seekers, for example with travel vouchers, to enable access to essential journeys”.

The motion also recommended that the mayor “collaborate with the government on a long-term solution to give asylum seekers access to public transport”.

However, there is no evidence that the proposals have been presented by Mayor Sadiq Khan. On the Transport for London website, asylum seekers and refugees not included as a group who are entitled to free and discounted travel.

In October, the Scottish Government committed to bringing forward proposals to give asylum seekers free bus travel until 2026after plans were previously shelved in August.

We have previously fact-checked a number of other misleading claims about the benefits that asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants to the UK are entitled to.