Young people have called on Brighton and Hove City Council to find a way to fund free bus fares for under-19s, with more than 2,500 people signing a petition supporting their cause.
The petition was debated at a meeting of the full council yesterday (Thursday 18 December), with four members of Brighton and Hove Youth Council putting their case to councillors.
King’s School pupil Robert Sales, 15, introduced the petition before Varndean College student Megan Stubbs, 17, told councillors that most of the 2,514 signatures on the petition were from young people. But there was support from the wider community too.
She said: “Public transport acts as a lifeline for young people in the city, providing transport for those without cars, travel to get to school and, crucially, a safe way home in the dark.
“Price can act as an economic barrier between young people and travelling around the city they live in, especially during a ‘cost of living crisis’.
“For a city that aspires to do the very best for all young people, free transport is a necessary next step.”
She quoted one of the comments on petition which said that Brighton and Hove should follow in London’s footsteps by making bus travel free for those at college and school.
BHASVIC student Naomi Hudson, 17, urged the council to work with other interested parties to investigate free transport for young people.
She said: “This has always been important but more so now than ever considering the recently announced lowering of the voting age to 16.
“To be a city that strives to ensure equality of opportunity for all young people, we must ensure systems work for those facing the greatest disadvantage. Free transport is a necessary step in achieving this.”
Blatchington Mill pupil Edie Oakman, 15, said that free public transport was available to young people in London and Scotland.
She said: “No young people should find travel a barrier to education.
“Safe, affordable and accessible travel is a right, not a luxury, and should be a priority.”
Labour councillor Trevor Muten, the council’s cabinet member for transport, said that he was happy to meet youth council members to discuss the matter further.
Councillor Muten said: “For every young person, an affordable, safe, reliable and well-connected bus service enables more freedom, is better for the planet and helps tackle deep-seated inequality.
“It may mean fewer car journeys and mean those without access to a lift are not excluded. I’m completely on board with the aims of this petition. I know low bus fares make a huge difference.”
Green councillor Sue Shanks said that she would like to see a national scheme funding bus fares for young people.
Councillor Shanks said: “London has a different funding system and I know they’ve had that for quite a while and it particularly advantages young people whose parents perhaps can’t afford it.
“Some parents will buy them an annual bus pass. They can use that but others can’t. I think it’s really important.”
Conservative councillor Alistair McNair said that he was a regular bus user and added that bus fares across the country were capped at £2 under the previous Conservative government.
Councillor McNair said: “Maybe this petition is really about taking more cars off the road to reduce the city’s carbon emissions?
“What’s wrong with young people trying to buy their own car? How are they going to be able to travel to work if they haven’t got access to their own vehicles?”
He said that the council was closing libraries to save £30,000 and was unlikely to be able to afford making public transport free.
If you want free transport purchase a bike or e scooter, even goes towards your daily exercise.
Tax payers money should be spent on fixing the roads which benefits all users not just a small percentage
It would benefit those at school and working and others who have commitments after school, college and more, I think any help in the direction of education is worth a few tax dollars, just my opinion of course
If it’s free to the boomers then it should be free to kids.
Why should one out of work cohort get more than another out of work cohort?
E-Scooters aren’t legal in the UK…
Besides I’d echo what Stan Reid said otherwise
https://www.gov.uk/electric-scooter-rules
If bike theft wasn’t rampant I’d agree.
It’s the scale of theft that makes me not want a bike. I’d like to see more bike lockers around Brighton; they always look to be fully booked up all the time.
I don’t! They cost the council tax payer money in subsidy as they don’t charge enough for the hire of them plus they are ugly looking things!
Well done to these young people delivering this petition. I wonder what the cost would be to enable this? Or rather, maybe more accurately, how much money would a bus company lose in revenue to enable this?
I thought local councils covered or contributed to those costs ??? on the other hand I don’t mind if bus company owners were contributing, like the German Investement firm that owns Stagecoach
Hi Ben,
Okay, we already know from BHCC the cost of ‘Free’ travel for disabled, seniors and others entitled to free or discounted fares is in the region of £11millon each year.
That is 11million in actual reimbursements to the bus companies, but hardly puts a dent in the real costs. For example a full standard fare is 2.70, under the old half fare structure seniors would pay 1.35 and the council in theory paying the other half, but in reality only £1 with discounts.
Under this free scheme, bus companies have lost 1.90 per pass presented already, as the council do not even pay a half fare, roughly now 80p per ticket. The more ‘Free’ travel given, the less the reimbursements are and 80p drops to 75p per ‘free’ passenger in reality.
As a result, Bus fares go up to recover some of the short falls in reimbursements.
Bus companies will have data available on how much revenue is generated by the under 19’s who already enjoy discounts anyway.
An interesting idea but where is the revenue going to come from, Government support won’t last forever and I doubt it could all be covered by parking revenue etc so would mean coming direct from council taxes.
People have said how great the Quality Contract System is in London and that under 16’s get free travel. People want TfL type contracts here in Brighton, but there’s lots of points with QC that wouldn’t be great and people need to look at the huge ‘Debts’ TfL have.
Thank you for doing the math! It makes a very salient point about the viability of such a scheme.
There are more important things to spend money on. They can walk!