Free bus pass

[Annie.]

Should children have free bus passes when lots live near to their school?

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[Eagle]

No.
Used to be 3 miles in my day. Would accept 1.5 miles now as children no where near as fit as in the 50's.

This all down to good old Livingstone again . Thankfully he is finished in politics , but we are stuck with this stupid policy.

[Annie.]

I think the money could be spent somewhere else,sports grounds for the kids to use,keep fit,fight fat?
Also should they be used 7 days a week, at weekends also?

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[Rachael]

We used to have a limit - free bus pass if you lived more than two miles from school, and it could only be used on weekdays. Which seemed fair.

Having said that, I do find it very reassuring that my daughter (aged 14) has her Oyster card and can get home from where ever she is without having to worry about the money. Being able to use the buses freely has made her more independent, in a good way, in that she can confidently work out bus routes and get herself around to see friends etc without constantly asking me for a lift. Using the Oyster also means I can put cash on it for her to pay from trains or trams, which are not free.

Ironically, using the buses means she does at least twenty minutes walking every day as it's ten minutes walk from our house to any bus stop she might use.

In September both my kids will be at the same secondary school. The route to school requires taking two buses. If the buses were not free, and we had to pay two fares there and two back every day, twice over, I might be tempted to drive them to school as it would be cheaper (and takes about half the time!).

[Annie.]

I can see the good side of it, peace of mind etc, but there is also a bad side, making children lazy, also possibly transferring antisocial behaviour to another borough? Costing tax payer etcetc.
I don,t however think the Freedom Pass is a bad thing,allowing older people to have a bit more freedom then perhaps they would have,being able to leave the car at home for shopping trips etc.

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[Rachael]

Annie - I've just edited my post above. I agree that some kids use buses to be lazy, but mine get extra exercise walking to the bus and back every day!

[Annie.]

I meant to write " make some lazy" I am sure many children play sports /do some sort of activity,but some don't, and that walk too and from school might be the only exercise they get.if they live local to their school I think they should walk.

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[14BradfordRoad]

It's suprising just how many children are dropped off to School by their parents in a car these
days, even when they live 1/4 mile (or less) away! This means that many still wouldn't walk to
school even if free bus passes were withdrawn.

On the subject of Free Bus Passes:
A proposed plan on the horizon is to introduce free bus passes to the 'under 25's' looking for
work. This would mean that if under 25 and a job seeker a free bus pass would be given, it
would have to be unlimited to allow to search for jobs, travel to training etc. Five leading bus operators (including Arriva) are backing this plan.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/0 ... sfeed=true

Also:
Mayor of London Boris Johnson today announced that a new type of Oyster photocard will be launched this autumn to restore 60 year olds’ entitlement to free travel on Transport for
London services.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/desti ... unced.html

[14BradfordRoad]

I don,t however think the Freedom Pass is a bad thing,allowing older people to have a bit more freedom then perhaps they would have,being able to leave the car at home for shopping trips etc.

This could become means tested at some stage, although not very popular with politicians for
all the obvious reasons, along with the Winter fuel allowances Annie.
The government is under pressure to cut where they can. I believe that 80% (or similar figure)
of the most wealthy people are over 60 years old, the wealthiest can realistically afford to pay,
the question here is whether or not they should?

[marymck]

Children don't get free bus travel outside London and their journeys are much more difficult. I think there's a lit to be said for the school bus. One journey to and from school. And I'd also like parents to teach their children to give up seats for adults instead of vice versa.

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[Annie.]

Where I used to work,many people came to me for training,they were all given bus pass money to get there if they were signing on anyway,so I dont think thats a new idea,maybe just extended,as for children being dropped off at school by car,well in that case they don,t need a free bus pass.the school bus system would be quite a good idea,at least the children would be safe,never be late,less parents dropping their kids off, so less traffic on the roads maybe? I think over 65s deserve to get what the get,they have worked normally all their lives for retirement,it just seems a nice gesture from a caring society to allow this.
under 25 s passes , if it helps get a job then great.

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[Rachael]

Some schools have started operating bus services again - I think Kingsdale does.

I wouldn't mind so much paying for the kids' bus fares if there was a system of free transfers. I've used buses in another city with electronic passes where you can swap from one route to another within a certain time without paying another fare, if you are on a PAYG card.

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[Annie.]

I think the cost of transport is terrible,they are supposed to want to encourage public transport travel, the cost should be brought down to 30p a journey,mabe then cars would get off the road.
They take more and more money from us for transport and it doesn't appear to help.
I'm not against kids having free passes, but think in some cases it is doing more harm than good.

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[stuart]

From 11 to 15 I lived a few yards under 3 miles from school so didn't qualify for a bus pass. My mum gave me money for the bus. This I pocketed and walked (she never found out). This gave me impressive spending power amongst my peers and kept me fit too.

When I was 16 we moved and I got my free bus pass. I got fat. I have been fighting weight issues ever since (which is why I cycle now).

IMHO Making kids walk or cycle is really important in establishing a healthy lifestyle and giving them a longer life. The problem with 'choice' in education is that parents more often than not do not choose the nearest school and hence walking is impractical and cycling is perceived by many as too dangerous.

We really know how to stack the odds against our kids. However, free kids bus passes is better than driving them to school. How can we deter that?

Stuart

[leenewham]

Bike runs? Where mentored runs are done and kids can join a bike run in the morning to school, a bit like catching a bus. Safety in numbers etc.

Plus the government could help by removing VAT off kids bikes.

[Annie.]

Pick up points for school buses would be a good idea if the option to walk isn't viable, if they hold 30-40 or whatever amount,then thats a potential 15-20 cars off the road ( i'm only guessing figures,I really haven't a clue how many) the subsidised bus passes could help pay for the bus? But I still think that if A child lives within a certain distance they should have to walk,unless there are other reasons, bullying for example.

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[Rachael]

Bike runs? Where mentored runs are done and kids can join a bike run in the morning to school, a bit like catching a bus. Safety in numbers etc.

I know of at least one primary school in East Dulwich that does this. I can't see secondary school kids doing it - way too uncool.

[Annie.]

Thats a good idea,but the bike lanes would have to be vastly improved.

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[14BradfordRoad]

Pick up points for school buses would be a good idea if the option to walk isn't viable, if they hold 30-40 or whatever amount,then thats a potential 15-20 cars off the road ( i'm only guessing figures,I really haven't a clue how many) the subsidised bus passes could help pay for the bus? But I still think that if A child lives within a certain distance they should have to walk,unless there are other reasons, bullying for example.

Good idea Annie which I would personally love to see happen. Unfortunately 'Cuts' are being
made to all sorts of School services, in the same way as other public services so school buses
may just be an expensive luxury which we cannot afford these days. I don't believe we have
yet felt the full impact of these cuts either.

Pick up points for school buses would be a good idea if the option to walk isn't viable, if they hold 30-40 or whatever amount,then thats a potential 15-20 cars off the road

Cars parked outside our school (drop off & pickup) also in surrounding side roads probably equates to 200 - 400, then again there are nearly 1000 children across the whole site (and
it's only a primary ) the majority live fairly local.
We would need quite a few School buses buzzing around. The cost to the taxpayer = Very expensive.

[14BradfordRoad]

Children don't get free bus travel outside London and their journeys are much more difficult. I think there's a lit to be said for the school bus. One journey to and from school. And I'd also like parents to teach their children to give up seats for adults instead of vice versa.

Many other areas also get free bus travel Mary, heres one of many examples:
http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/10001 ... vel_pass/1

Googled this and there are many more too.