The Government have announced that they will be scrapping a trial of free bus passes for under-22s in England, citing a lack of funding. The Department for Transport recommended that the government trial the scheme back in August, with MPs saying it would help young people access work and education.
The report from a select committee of MPs found that paying for public transport was a barrier to opportunity and growth in some areas of England. The cost of bus tickets varies across England and Wales, and many bus services in rural areas are infrequent and expensive for young people.
MPs also heard from young people with disabilities who cannot drive, describing the high, “unavoidable cost” of paying for unreliable services, particularly when trying to access education or health services in remote areas.
Bus ticket prices vary across England, with a prominent disparity between London and rural areas. The cap on bus fares outside London was increased to £3 in January 2025 unless subsidised by individual councils, with many service users and campaign groups criticising the impact on lower-income households.
Research done by the Equality Trust has found that households in London benefit from a higher level of bus subsidy per household than other regions.
In the rest of England, children and young people must pay up to £3 for a single journey, even if it is for the purpose of attending school, a job interview, or a hospital appointment.
A student in Year 13, living in rural England, explained how some of her friends have been forced to move to a different college with fewer further education courses to choose from due to the high cost of bus travel and recent restructuring of services.
This is a sharp contrast to Scotland, where free bus travel for 5 to 22-year-olds was introduced in January 2022.
Beth, a 20-year-old Scottish student, explained that her Young Scot Card “allows me so much freedom” as she lives outside the city centre. She added that paying for transport would be a barrier to going to campus and would “probably mean I attend far less”, especially during a cost-of-living crisis. Free bus travel is a “great motivator” to attend lectures, she added, and is also “good for the social aspect and giving me a healthy work-life balance.”
The Government’s announcement has faced backlash from cross-party MPs and young people. The chair of the Transport Committee, Ruth Cadbury, branded it a “missed opportunity” to improve services in rural areas.It remains to be seen whether the government will return to the plan in future, once a new spending review period commences in 2029.
“File: London (UK), Bus — 2010 — 6.jpg” by Dietmar Rabich is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.