School children should receive free bus travel before pensioners?

[Itchthescratch]

My child is starting a school where it will cost around £2k for bus travel. This school is local and one of the closest schools to us. The other schools close to us are much worse in terms of opportunities and academic outcomes. I can afford the bus fare easily but I worry that some poorer families will really struggle to send their children to the higher achieving school because of the cost.

I understand that there isn't an endless pot of money but surely it would make sense to give school children free travel ahead of other groups like pensioners? School children are statistically much more likely to suffer from poverty (child poverty is almost double pensioner poverty)and it seems crazy that we aren't supporting social mobility whilst we let all pensioners travel for free on buses.

In Scotland everyone between 5-21 get a free bus pass. They have been a godsend for my daughter as she gets public bus to school and back x

24 if in full time (uni/college) education, I understand.
disclaimer - I am not a parent, so not 100%!

So you've chosen an "out of area school" so transport costs aren't met. Really £2k a year, 190 school days a year, currently bus fares capped at £3 for adults, your figures don't add up. The OAP bus pass is a different thing, I've got one and rarely use it, "Worst Bus" only get paid when I'm on the bus, the 2 hour service to local towns means that I normally use my car, I suspect most pensioners who aren't on the Daily Fail breadline (where they have to pay higher rate tax and definitely need the WFA and a free TV licence) do the same.

I would actually fully support free public transport for 16-25 year olds over all other groups if I had to pick. Given the troubles young people have at the moment getting employment helping make it easier to get too and from work could have real long term benefits.

Oh right! I’m not a parent either…I only know about the school children because we have young teenagers in the family!

If you choose a privileged school pay for it. A school is only as good as its catchment area. A child should always be educated close to their home community to fit in with young people around them. Remember the days of the 11+ stigma of failure? Grammar Bugs and snobs? If your child has ability it will thrive anywhere.

Everything should be means tested. Bus fare, pension, benefits. That's the only fair way of doing it. My parents tried repeatedly to give back the warm fuel allowance, they don't need the money.

If someone is pension age now, then they received the benefit of having grown up in the most favourable economic conditions that ever existed

Follow Scotland’s lead …

Where on earth does your mother live. Not the UK, as state pension doesn't even reach £15K never mind £100k.

Pensioner here, born just after WWII, I can remember rationing. My children's generation, born in the 70s have seen more affluence.

I’m sorry but I’m a pensioner on basic state pension as my only income , if I didn’t have my free bus pass I’d be a prisioner in my own home as I don’t drive and am not about to start in my 70s, not all of us are sitting on a pot of gold , and don’t qualify for any extra social welfare payments at all as you could be £1 over the threshold . Try stoping giving free travel to all immigrants and you use the money to fund children’s bus fares out of London

Sorry,can't agree with you on this one. Pensioners are given free travel( in SOME council areas) because many can no longer,or never could drive and are more likely to struggle with walking. You will understand when you reach that situation.
You'll be wanting parking spaces right outside shops for people with children next, because apparently children can't walk ,oh wait there already are!!

I hope you never get old.

In Scotland there are a lot of free things that we pay for down here. I always think its to compensate for the awful weather you have to endure!

Speak for yourself. I remember 3 day week, so we often didn't have food, strikes everywhere. Going round the house carrying a candle, misogynists wall to wall,people died of illnesses we now have vaccines for,no help from the police for domestic violence victims,no benefits to speak of( if you needed money you worked).
Yeah great time had by all.
But at least we grew up independant and not snowflakes

Really?
Don't know where you live but I never knew where the next meal was coming from. But I suppose if you were affluent..

Hear hear!! Spoken by a sensible person at last.

Only for places nearest to you. When I went to sixth form in 1991, I only got a bus pass because the more local college didn't offer one of the A levels I wanted to do. I had to write in and apply for it. Back in the day, people used to move to get closer to the best schools to guarantee a place.
I think, though, absolutely you should be able to get a free bus pass regardless. Parents should have a choice of schools that shouldn't be limited by the financial constraints of travel.

But your bus fare is £10.50 per day?

It's too simplistic to just blame pensioners for getting free bus travel. The more nuanced reality is that apart probably from London better off pensioners don't use public transport so although they could have a bus pass they don't. Here we have no bus or train service, so drive everywhere. When I'm staying somewhere with buses I never use them, I suppose I've lost the bus habit! If I really can't drive or walk I take a taxi.

So fear not I , and many more like me, aren't costing the taxpayer anything to gad about on buses. Although I do wonder if OAP 's travelling at off peak times really do cost anything, surely the buses would be running anyway, but nearly empty. Schoolchildren on the other hand are filling buses at times when commuters also need to use them.

There are six million unpaid carers in the UK, who save society £184 billion pa. Those who care 24/7, don’t have time to work and only get carers allowance (now about £80 per week). They get credits for the state pension; but are unlikely to have enough to live on, never mind pay into a private pension.

Do you seriously think having £80 approximately per week (and historically less than that) to live on is affluence?

Check your privilege!

I didnt back in the 60s. Had to pay my fare to school and back. Because I went to a school voluntarily that was out of walking distance.

We don’t need it either…we easily gave it to someone in our family who did.

If the school is within a 3 mile radius, then children are able to walk to school. I used to when I was younger without parent supervision. I also took charge of my younger sibling, we started walking on our own aged 8 and 6 years. We only ever allowed to use the bus, when it was raining. My parents could not afford the daily bus fee. It did us no harm.Do children not cycle to school anymore?
As for removing funding or travel pass from OAP's seems unreasonable. For many OAP's, this is their life line and only means of getting to the shops or preventing them from becoming socially isolated. Not all OAP's have pots of money. Many are living on a state pension and are on the breadline 'Eat or Heat' comes to mind. Their pension has not risen significantly in line with inflation. Many OAP's have health related or mobility issues and do not have access to a car, how do you propose they survive?
IMO, Most children are fit and healthy and should be walking to school, the fresh air will do them good and also allows them to become confident and streetwise.