Fares rise may force young off the buses

An increase in bus fares for children in South Yorkshire threatens to reverse an increase in numbers of young people using public transport.

Child concessionary fares rose from 40p to 50p last year and will increase to 60p this April.

The first rise has already seen passenger numbers fall by six per cent, according to the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive.

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Prior to the increase, child patronage had risen from about 17 million passengers a year to around 18.5 million a year.

However, transport bosses said the child concessionary fare remained the lowest in the country outside London.

SYPTE’s Director of Customer Experience David Young said: “Like many other organisations, in recent years we have been forced to make cost efficiencies in line with the current economic climate.

“Following a cut in transport budgets, it was necessary to increase the cost of child concessionary fares by 10p in April 2011; this was the first time these fares had increased since October 2003.

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“However, these fares in South Yorkshire remain the lowest in the metropolitan areas of England, outside of London.”

Coun Mick Jameson, the chairman of the authority which oversees public transport delivery in the county, said: “It is increasing pressure on family budgets at a very difficult time, but we have the same pressures on our budget.”

The authority also reports that uptake of Mi cards, which give children in Barnsley free travel within the borough at most times of day, is slowly declining.

Less than three-quarters of qualifying youngsters (72 per cent) now have the cards.

No comment was available from Barnsley Council about the decline.