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.

And there is no closer school they could've got into

I wonder how many millionaires are using buses. Maybe in cities but here in South Devon I think people drive if they can afford a car.

School places ate allocated on distance (in the majority of the country) because its the most logical way of doing it. School places are finite, thsy cant just cram everyone in the popular schools.

As for buses... I agree and disagree. I remember when it became free in London... lots of kids which happuly walked the 20 minures to school before crowded onto the buses for 2 stops instead.

So it’s not about the transport at all but the school. Any spare money needs to go on raising standards at all comprehensives so that they are the only valid choice.

In terms of kids before the elderly. It shouldn’t be a competition but do you really want the elderly with their bad sight and delayed reactions driving around. Keeping them mobile is essential in keeping them well. This is more important than a bus facts and which you can actually afford.

You have chosen to spend £2k. You have chosen to go to a school further away. Your happy with that choice which is wonderful but you can’t then complain about the consequences of that choice.

If you can afford to pay that you’re in a lucky position to start with so maybe just be greatful for that!

I'm mid 70s and even I can do 3 miles in under an hour. I would be faster without my arthritic hip.

They are entities in their own right. We need them to succeed and to meet their potential for society's sake. The idea that children are just their parents' problem is deeply flawed.

Pensioners are somebody's children. Many of them haven't paid enough into the system to fund their own state pension let alone a bus pass. Do we make sure the ones that haven't paid enough don't get free travel? If not then your argument that they've all earned it is clearly rubbish.

Also if everyone was given free bus passes to any school they want then your chances of getting into the school of your choice would be massively decreased. At the moment you get a place because your lucky enough to be able to pay for the travel so it’s an option to apply for!

The main problem here is that children are a net drain on the economy. Admittedly so are pensioners. However they have the vote.

National qualifying criteria for school transport. Assume this applies to England.
https://www.gov.uk/free-school-transport

That seems excessive but plenty are paying several hundred pounds per term just to go to their nearest school. Our school buses are £350 per term - they only run to the villages that aren’t on a public bus route (which is much cheaper).

We have to be realistic though. Schools are nowhere near to being equal. The gap between affluent and disadvantaged pupils is growing not shrinking. This includes comprehensives.

People are recieving bus passes when they turn 65. Do you think they all have bad eyesight and delayed reactions? I hope not as the majority drive. I would be more open to affording older pensioners free bus travel on safety grounds.

I agree that for the nearest school with places it should be funded. It’s when it’s parental choice to go further that I think then asking for it to be funded is wrong!

Without the children the pensioners are fucked going forward though.

No educated workforce to pay their ever increasing costs or care for them.

But children may become net contributors in the future or be long term net drains. Which they become is dependent largely on education and opportunity.

Two things can be true at the same time.

It used to be free didn’t it or at least a lot of cheaper. We should be prioritising the young more but it’s unlikely with an ageing population

Things have changed now. Ofsted quite rightly judges schools on academic progress rather than raw exam results They look at how much a student improves from when they start the school to when they leave.If a student starts at a lower academic level and achieves a grade 4 or 5, the school has added immense value.
Ofsted groups progress and attainment data under the Achievement category. A school cannot achieve the "expected standard" or "strong standard" in achievement if its pupils are making poor progress relative to their starting points.
Schools must provide explicit evidence that pupils facing barriers—such as Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) or socioeconomic disadvantage—are making robust, measurable progress. A school with high average progress scores that systematically fails its most vulnerable cohorts will struggle to meet the required baseline.

We have more over 60s than under 15s so in for some tough times.

Driving gets harder as you get older. We absolutely should be encouraging everybody over 65 to use the bus more.

Yep, I did refer to those but they were intransigent and for the sake of £15 a week I wasn’t going to spend any more time on it. I think their default position is to reject any school transport request and then only cave if people persist.

I agree, kids need to get to school daily and should be able to have a choice in which school to attend. Pensioners don’t necessarily have to commute anywhere daily but there lots of good reasons why they should have access to free transport. I think all children should get non means tested travel and the very wealthy pensioners perhaps could decline to apply for a bus pass if they don’t need it.

Driving does get harder but if you're serious that over 65 year olds present a risk on the road due to age then we need more serious measures than a free bus pass. Why not retest them all? That way the ones that fail can get free bus travel

Not sure where you are but in Scotland everyone under 21 gets free bus travel as do pensioners. We pay heavier rates of tax though than the rest of the UK to subsidise that plus free prescriptions and free university tuition for those having been in Scotland for a qualifying period and attending a Scottish university

Possibly