So I know young Londoners aged 16-18 get a pass entitling them to free bus transport and subsidised tube and train fares in the whole Greater London area. Which is obviously lovely.
However. In our rural county I have just learnt that there is no free or subsidised transport at all for post-16 education. Instead we have to buy an annual season bus ticket which gives access to all the county's bus services (most of which will never be used, since it's primarily for getting to and from college/sixth form a few miles away). For a grand total of...
Eight. Hundred. and. Ten. English. Pounds.
£810 actual pounds.
Blimey. Most 6th form provision is concentrated in regional centres, so almost everyone will have to travel, and only the lucky few who live actually in the town where the college or school is will be able to walk or cycle. There are 'bursaries' available for low-income families, but they have to be applied for through the individual school or college, and there appear to be limited funds available.
I had blithely assumed that because post-16 education is now compulsory, there would be some form of transport provision, not necessarily to any school or college, but at least to your nearest one. But nope.
Is this unusual? I'd be interested to know what the provision is in other parts of the country.