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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think kids should go free on buses?

167 replies

3asAbird · 21/12/2013 09:08

I know they do travel free in london if under 16.

here its free until 5

but most of time they never ask me to pay for 7year old.

really depends what bus drivers we get.
fares seem to vary on same route like they made a na error.

everyone moans about first bus and how extortionate they are.
they never on time
bus drivers can be rude and seem to hate kids.

one had go at me for giving him change think there was few coppers with the silver.

ours frequently dont have change and give change tickets which have to eb take to bus station or first shop which means frequenly i never see the money back.

i rarly take the bus with kids as its flipping stressful

but sometimes from local high street as the main road long abut mile if weathers bad its now £1.50 each way so return would cost £3 for 1mile.
day riders £4 each and family day rider £10 but worked out summer sometimes cheaper hubby drive into city centre and park.

anyway last night we did some shopping food up high street. cash machine wasent working so had £1.50 on me, it was dark and raining.

kids asked if we take bus so girls sat down 2younger ones under 5 3kids.

the bus driver dident argue she wanted eldest to pay due to age.

she said was first rules only 2free kids with 1 fullpaying adults.
never heard that rule before, some could say when you chanced it and lost.

so we had to get off shame of everyone on bus looking.
small boy crying in his buggy.
we were only going like 3 stops .

some of you might say aibu you should pay you fare ddger but rules seem to vary on driver and route they shouldent never know what to expect.

i hate taking bus most of time as people can be so horrid.

last time had 2 oaps have go at me over my well behaved kids.
got off stop early.

we live distance from school bus that bus route so unreliable and would work out so expensive we walk the 1.2 miles.

myself and kids quite used to walking now so often walk what most people say long distances not helped by some areas even close by ones being 2buses.

often theres not enough room many buggies.

but i have been thinking last few months/

hear people say what strain bus fees are to senior schools £60 a month here yet educations pretty much compulsary unless you home ed and you get whichever school council allocate you.

even if within 2miles can be long walk for little reception child.

i wonder what happens with unemployed and job centre?
as nearest job centres 6miles £6 return or 4miles,2buses £4.

my 2 wealthy car driving neighbours with their free bus passes are often going on nice shopping trips or days out with theres.

which makes me think.

why oaps get free travel but not kids?

im lucky every things walkable and rarly rely on bus but for those who do must be huge cost.

so every time i walk up long rd in wet/snow and see bus whizz past with mostly oaps i think god the uks so fair not!

OP posts:
ShatterResistant · 21/12/2013 10:39

YABU. My (London) bus to work is often so full of school children going 2 or 3 stops because they don't have to pay, that people going to work can't get on. I am seriously thinking of campaigning to make children pay because of it...

Grennie · 21/12/2013 10:41

This thread isn't about children. It seems just another thinly veiled attack on old people.

Kids over 5 can walk.

Grennie · 21/12/2013 10:43

And I know it makes me sound old, but as a kid I used to walk loads. Most kids nowdays get nowhere enough exercise.

Fakebook · 21/12/2013 10:50

Sockreturningpixie, sorry, I lied. I've just checked the bus company website for the bus fares and I've been taking dd on the bus for free without knowing it! It's actually upto half the price of an adult bus fare from age 5. Whoops. Dd is 6 now. I wonder why no bus driver has ever asked me Dd's age.

phantomnamechanger · 21/12/2013 11:03

I have a close relative who would have a fit if he read some of this thread as so many people clearly have no idea how the industry and the subsidies works at all yet feel qualified to comment. (Still, that's MN all over I guess Xmas Grin)

Firstly, think yourself very lucky indeed if you have EVER managed to get away with not paying for one of your DCs ride - if an inspector got on that driver is risking a formal warning, and eventually dismissal.

Secondly free travel for OAPs is more hassle than it is worth and many bus companies would rather not have it - what they get paid does not cover their costs and they often end up having to provide bigger buses to cope with the demand - which again is more expensive. I do agree with them in general as some older people really should not be driving! but should be means tested. sadly it is well known that some poorer pensioners go riding the buses all day just for some company and because they cannot afford to heat their homes - so they just go on a long round trip everyday, which is obviously sad.

Free travel/subsidised travel for school kids varies hugely - in our area you can buy an annual pass for a year unlimited travel (not just school journey) for 11-16yrolds for just £100, although this is changing and going up quite a bit from next yr largely due to greedy parents having argued the case for it being extended to include 6th formers too! While they have a point now school leaving age is higher, they should have been very grateful for what this county already offers, IMO. One of the other problems is that knowing the bus will be full of rowdy kids puts off other members of the public from using it, so you have no proper paying customers .

The biggest problem is youths who will not walk more than 10 paces, and think mummy should take them to school so they don't get wet waiting for the bus! People who think door-to-door is the only way to go and won't entertain a short walk at either end.

Finally whilst I appreciate that for a full car load, using the car may be cheaper, many motorists do underestimate what it costs them to drive kids to school, in terms not just of fuel but extra wear on tyres/brakes etc and services/repairs/replacing the car coming round more quickly.

People also confuse an infrequent/irregular timetable with an unreliable one.

sashh · 21/12/2013 11:07

Because they might find it harder to walk than children do, due to health issues and infirmity?

HesterShaw · 21/12/2013 11:11

Yes, it would be nice, but if working age adults had to subsidise children as well as older people, then fares would go up for everyone else, making the bus even more expensive. Routes would close because of lack of actual fare paying passengers.

Grennie · 21/12/2013 11:13

Disabled people need to reach a high threshhold of not being able to walk to get free bus passes. Many elderly people are not disabled as such, but no longer have the stamina, energy or balance to walk longer distances. Without free bus passes. I suspect many older people would carry on driving when it was not safe to do so.

HesterShaw · 21/12/2013 11:17

They're already scrapping loads of rural, isolated routes in Cornwall because they're not making enough money because of free/subsidised travel.

LucyLasticKnickers · 21/12/2013 11:18

because of free/subsidised travel??
not many other people use the buses though.

if there were no OAPs on the bus, who woudl use them,??

PresidentServalan · 21/12/2013 11:24

Children take up seats, they are often a pita disturbing other passengers, why shouldn't someone have to pay to take children on the bus?

SuburbanRhonda · 21/12/2013 11:24

I don't understand why OAPs can't be asked to pay a flat rate of £1 per journey. It doesn't have to be standard rate or free. That £1 would make a huge difference to have much full-paying adults have to pay.

OttilieKnackered · 21/12/2013 11:28

Travel is more expensive in London? Don't make me fucking laugh. People elsewhere pay far more than £1.40 per bus journey and aren't capped at less than a fiver.

A day 'saver' round here is £5.70 for an area much much smaller than London with buses far less frequent

I never understand this mindset of some Londoners that their public transport is just so awful. It's by far the best I've seen anywhere in this country.

TidyDancer · 21/12/2013 11:31

People who get free travel (at the point of sale) around here (south east) are OAPs, children under three, people with disabilities and those undergoing treatment for addiction.

HesterShaw · 21/12/2013 11:41

Lucy, they'd be on the buses but having to pay a fare.

In many areas, people who use buses for free are people like my mother - well able to pay for herself, or can drive perfectly well. She thinks it's a terrific laugh to ride around on buses for nothing with her chums, before going for lunch and shopping, and then riding home for nothing.

LIZS · 21/12/2013 11:47

Costs me as much to pay for 1 adult & 2dc to nearest town (3m) as to park at the station all day. If we go into London I'll usually opt to drive and park. Does adult fare kick in at 16?

MarlenaGru · 21/12/2013 11:54

I think London public transport is awesome as do most people I know? And my commute is expensive. I live 10km from work and pay £6.20 a day. I don't have any other option other than running or cycling which I do sometimes too.

Surely most commuters are on buses long before school children if they work a normal 9-5 job unless they too are getting a bus for a short journey or the children are on the bus with their parents going to nursery, breakfast clubs etc? I know I would avoid a bus at 3 because of school kids but they have to get home somehow and as I am at work most days it isn't a huge hardship.

NiceTabard · 21/12/2013 12:03

YANBU at all, public transport use should be encouraged and giving the ability for people to get around is vital esp. in eg rural areas.

I live on the edge of london and mainly travel in so on TFL, I think the transport in London is great, and really approve of children up to 16 (is it 16 or 18? - young people anyway) getting free travel.

I am always really really shocked when I get a bus going the other way ie not TFL at the price for often really short distances.

Public transport should be plentiful, affordable and with good coverage. It is good for everyone to have more people on it than dividing between those who can afford a car being mobile and those who can't being stuck. Just another form of social segregation really.

NiceTabard · 21/12/2013 12:05

Pay for children under 3 Shock

That is just way tight-fisted.

ilovesooty · 21/12/2013 12:07

I don't see why children should travel free. The OP seems to want something for nothing. Most children don't walk enough anyway. If a child has a disability that's different of course.

NiceTabard · 21/12/2013 12:08

LOL @ kids over 5 can walk Grin

What if it's a 10 mile journey.

LOLs some more.

Honestly people are so selfish. Kids can walk, they shouldn't go free as they are a PITA (WTF?!) etc.

It has been in place for London for years and it works great, the kids can get the tube / bus to school (long distances can be involved), buses are busy in the daytime with older people and parents on leave with your kids, it's all great. What's not to like. Taking it away would be a real retrograde step.

HesterShaw · 21/12/2013 12:12

Tabard, yes in theory. But who's going to pay for it?

ilovesooty · 21/12/2013 12:14

Who suggested kids should walk 10 miles? Presumably the cost of free child transport in London is borne by someone. However I think London's a special case and public transport is quite rightly a way of life there.

I don't see why in other areas of the country children should be able to travel free for short journeys. As I said it would be far better for their health to walk. Two or three stops worth of walking won't make them melt.

pumpkinsweetie · 21/12/2013 12:15

It seems some peeps don't remember, they too were once children themselvesGrin
"Children a pita"- you was one once!!!
"Children over 5 can walk" - Really? even more than a town-2 towns away? Seriously!!!

Pure ageism, why is it ok to be ageist against children?

LucyLasticKnickers · 21/12/2013 12:16

but as parents You pay for your child on the bus.

the OAPs pay for themselves.

and why shouldnt the OAPs have a laugh on the free buses.
particularly if they live home alone. can't understand this ageism. you will all be oaps one day