Its good for young people, it helps local businesses & could be a vital element in the Green Transition...
no wonder the Labour Govt. is not willing to offer free bus travel to the under-22s, and similarly its not a surprise that Zac Polanski & the GPEW have hit upon this as a key policy promise in attracting young people whose travel costs can be a major impediment to both working opportunities & families' finances.
When I was a student, you could get a bus pass for about £150 that gave free bus travel during term time for a year. On any bus except the ones between universities, a good 50% of the stopping time was spent checking tickets and with people paying. And sometimes they’d stop the busses and check everyone’s ticket.
Which makes me wonder: why only under 22s? Everything I’ve read on this subject suggests that eliminating bus fares entirely would increase ridership, increase economic activity, and reduce wear on the roads (and, thus, maintenance costs) and secondary effects from poor air quality enough that it pays for itself.
@david_chisnall @ChrisMayLA6
Scottish Greens are now looking to extend the current <22 scheme to <30.
(The usual-suspect tabloids of course call this a "bonkers" waste of taxpayers money, like they do everything which helps society as a whole rather than wealthy individuals)
