Speaking to BBC Wales onboard a bus in Wrexham, Skates said the cap – along with what he called a “massive” expansion of the bus network – would cost a “relatively affordable” £35m a year.

The party says it would also introduce 100 new bus routes across Wales between 2027 and 2030.

The priority would be “connecting people to jobs and key services”, such as hospitals and railway stations, but Labour said the public would also be asked to suggest where the services should run.

Rival political parties said Labour, which has led the Welsh government since 1999, should have already made such improvements, questioning its commitment to them.

However Skates argued his party had been “in the driving seat on transforming public transport for years, and I’m confident the public have trust in us to deliver what is in their best interests”.

Polls suggest Labour’s 27-year dominance in Wales is under serious threat from Plaid Cymru and Reform.

But Skates insisted Labour is aiming for victory in May.

“We intend to win the election with pledges like this,” he said.

“More affordable public transport is one of the top priorities for people.”

Labour says the changes would use powers contained in the Bus Services (Wales) Bill, allowing officials to decide what services are provided.

The legislation passed its final stage in the Senedd last month.

Plaid Cymru transport spokesperson Peredur Owen Griffiths said Labour enjoyed “over 26 years to improve connectivity between our communities and to create an affordable and accessible transport system for everyone – but they’ve failed”.

Plaid, he said, has “real ambition to connect our communities in new and affordable ways through an integrated transport system”.

Welsh Tory shadow transport secretary Sam Rowlands pointed out the UK Conservative government introduced a £2 bus fare cap for England in 2023 only for UK Labour ministers to raise the cap to £3 last year.

Welsh Labour ministers, he warned, “cannot be trusted to expand the bus network to more rural areas outside of their electoral heartlands, as they have repeatedly failed to for 27 years”.

“Only the Welsh Conservatives can,” he said.

A Reform UK Wales spokesperson accused Labour of “making all sorts of promises in the hope that they can have another four years of failing to tackle soaring waiting lists and implementing extreme policies like the 20mph speed limit”.

Additional reporting by Adam Hale