London parents - Free bus travel for children suspended from October half term

[Poundpup]

I just came across this article whilst browsing the BBC site and it seems that free transport for under 18s will be suspended temporarily directly after the October half term. With exceptions for those travelling to school more than 2 miles away.

Does anyone know how much a child's fare is? As nowhere seems to indicate what the incoming children fares will be.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-53694922

Quite why the over 60s should get to travel free across London all the time escapes me

Probably because they need to get to work

Probably because they need to get to work

Well I can't see the difference between a 40 year old getting to work and a 60 year old getting to work.

@Ritasueandbobtoo9

Transport in many places is only paid to nearest school and over 2 miles. Why can’t children walk two miles in London. It’s flat and has pavements. (Unlike hilly rural areas)

Except for the bits that aren't flat or have pavements.

We have commons, woods, farmland, dual carriageways, hills (including multiple from 20-25%), bits with no pathway or lighting, etc. Some parts have bus services cancelled as soon as it gets a bit rainy or there's ice on the road because the hills are so steep, it's too dangerous for the buses to drive along them.

London isn't just Birdcage Walk.

Other thing I just thought of.

Round here a year or two back they wanted to redevelop (flog) an old housing estate. The people who lived there were regimes but for many it was miles away from jobs/ schools. It made the news a bit.

For schools the mitigation was that transport was free. When that goes, those kids are potentially going to be stuffed.

I really think that they need to release the rules asap. And also that there's a good potential for it costing more to administer than it saves/ brings in. Like with child benefit, things that are universal are much easier to administer.

This is a political move.

TFL works/ worked really well. It's a massive complex organisation and vital in the capital. I worry what will happen when Central government get their fingers into it. PPP in the ?90s was an expensive failure. I expect we will see it slowly parceled up/ part privatised etc. And that's worked so well for buses and trains...

Apologies I had got that wrong about TFL having suspended kids passes already in lockdown period - I know at that time kids were discouraged from using public transport as part of the effort (applicable to everyone in the remaining travelling public) to preserve what reduced capacity remained for key workers on TFL services, but I must have misremembered that they’d used taking away the subsidy from kids that time.

Perhaps at that time there was just discussion about taking away subsidised school bus transport in future. In any case, when schools were closed and lockdown was in full effect- unless for the children of key workers or vulnerable children who were continuing to attend schools, it would have meant that at that time there were many fewer kids travelling for school or other reasons than normal to have been affected by any withdrawal of transport funding. (Not that it’s ok to have added financial burden to a smaller number of hard pressed families)

But this new change is proposed to be being brought in in ‘normal’ times- when schools are back open and outside of lockdown- so it will affect much much greater numbers of children and make their life and their families lives economically even harder in an ongoing way.

Also I worry about the compounding factors of this policy- the less families have and less they are able to be engaged with schools (a risk of removing their free access transport) the less they can easily engage with other available help to try to live with hardship, like around getting school meals/vouchers etc www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools

It’s not about ‘entitlement’ tho- it’s about road and pavement safety for children not least because of the pressure of numbers travelling to school and work at the same time. London has miles of huge dangerous busy roads that kids have to navigate to get around - both in the centre and in the suburbs.

I’m sure most London parents would happily let their kids cycle or walk if they genuinely could but- For example the dangers on roads are such for adults that just a very few major routes roads in the centre are being improved for bikes to help commuters.

www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayor-launches-first-online-cycle-training-course

^ That is all fine so far as it goes in those specific places- but modifying road space can’t be done in time (and never will be) in order to help kids on all London school routes where they would currently take free public transport which currently reduces their exposure to road danger.

That's possibly one of the reasons who it looks as if they are heading for a straightforward 'over 2miles' which remains considerably more generous than that from many other councils (who provide only the statutory requirement), as well as being much easier to administer

(looks like they'll be sending (free) second Zip cards to qualifying children - there's a note about it on the photocard webpages)

Getting DC off the v short journeys which hopelessly overload buses just for two or three stops is a good thing.

And of course not all of London is has flat pavements all the way to school, but nor has the rest of the country. If you think there is no safe walking route, you need to get on to your council and/or TfL. Because it would be unfair not to have the same remedy for individual anomalies as everyone else has

Do you have a link?

I could only find this tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/11-15-zip-oyster-photocard

I think the onus will be on people to apply for free travel

Councils will then have to check if the children are attending their nearest suitable school

This is what I saw - it's on the Photocard account page. I think I over-interpreted it before, because needing a new card is mentioned as a possibility, not the settled decision:

"IMPORTANT NOTICE: The 11-15 and 16+ Zip Oyster photocard schemes are being reviewed due to the coronavirus pandemic. There may be changes to the free bus and tram travel concession in the near future. These changes might mean you are entitled to free bus and tram travel if you meet certain eligibility criteria, or required to pay a discounted fare if you do not. If you need to apply for a new card as a result of the changes, you won’t have to pay an administration fee for the new card. We will try to let you know of any changes in advance"

Councils will then have to check if the children are attending their nearest suitable school

Yes and no. The statutory requirement is for free transport (2 miles for U8s, 3 miles for 8-16, provided school was nearest one with vacancy at time of application). But there is nothing to prevent local councils (or in this case a pan-London decision between councils and TfL, possibly with the Mayor's office thrown in for good measure) having a different scheme, which can be more generous provided it meets all the statutory minima. Which I suspect is what they will go for, as it'll just be too complex to unscramble the situation for every pupil when they joined their current school, and as they seem to be saying 2 miles (and not 3) they look set to be leaning towards exceeding the basic

Our council already offers free travelcards to under 16s where the journey by bus or tram is considered unreasonable and for those on free school meals

DD1 catches the bus to school. Shortest driving route 5.2 miles. It isn’t our nearest school, but is our nearest faith school in our borough.

We are lucky because we can afford the fares, but the school don’t want children on public transport. It is too far for DD1 to walk, and the roads are too busy for her to cycle (she isn’t very aware of what is around her, and would be dangerous, to herself and others).

So it seems my only option, given that DD2 is at school in the opposite direction, starting and finishing at the same times, is to drive DD1 halfway to school and leave her to walk the rest and the same on her way home. This isn’t environmentally friendly

@SquirmOfEels

Quite why the over 60s should get to travel free across London all the time escapes me

Probably because they need to get to work

and hosp appts, also GPs. the majority of those who need and use medical services are aged over 60.

AuditAngel, wrote
but the school don’t want children on public transport.

why not ?

I find it more surprising that children ever got free travel- I pay nearly £800 a year for my teenager to travel to school ! There’s no option other than me driving me her

Tbh I think it's ridiculous it's free at all...... They should have to pay like everyone else and the government needs to look at reducing fares over the board.

I can't believe there are many under 8s who travel more than two miles to school in London - and they don't need Oyster cards anyway so that is not right!

Under 11s travel free on buses and the Underground - they have only historically required Oyster cards if they are rising 11 and look mature for their age.

@WhatWouldYouDoWhatWouldJesusDo

Tbh I think it's ridiculous it's free at all...... They should have to pay like everyone else and the government needs to look at reducing fares over the board.

11-16 are only free on buses and trams

Bus passes here cost over £100 a term but if you paid daily it would be more like £20 a week, I can't believe children in London got free bus travel.

Remember that many of the parents of said children in London pay an arm and a leg for their own annual season tickets. A zone 1-6 card is nearly £2,600. I think it might have been a Ken Livingstone initiative possibly to try to help level out the playing field, education-wise, for all London children not just the affluent ones.

I suspect the many parts of the country where parents have to pay for their DC's school travel are in Tory areas too.

Can't believe free travel is even offered to schools less than 2 miles away.

Can't believe free travel is even offered to schools less than 2 miles away. As someone commented upthread, it was probably cheaper to do it for all children than cope with the administration of doing it for some. It will be interesting to see what % of children continue to get the travel card across London. It wouldn't surprise me if it's nigh on 50%.

Free travel for DC is paid for from council tax and mayoral precept (which also originates in local taxes)

London as a whole pays for the travel concessions. We're not given it because we're special - but because we elected people who prioritised paying for it for us.

Want the same? You

Vote

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-53929510

I've just seen this -

"From 1 September dedicated school buses will be introduced on the busiest school routes.
"Commuters will only be able to board every other bus on some rush-hour routes in London to give school pupils priority, it has been announced.
"From 1 September, Transport for London (TfL) will add 230 dedicated school buses to the busiest school routes.
"All children aged 11 or older, have to wear face coverings on public transport"

"Pre-pandemic, around 250,000 school children used London's buses daily to get to and from school.
"More than 220 high-frequency routes that serve schools will have designated "school services".

"The dedicated school buses can be filled to capacity, but limits remain on regular services, said TfL.
"Some existing regular buses will be converted into school services, which will run on weekdays between 07.30 to 09.30 BST, and 14.30 to 16.30.
"Commuters are warned to expect increased waiting times during these periods"