Free travel for under 18’s and everyone in full-time education – lower fares for all

As we implement the Total Transport Network, we’ll have more passengers and more income.  So we can sustainably make transport free for under 18s and everyone in full time education.  This directly tackles child poverty.  It sets good habits for the future, too.  Walking a few hundred metres to a bus or Metro stop makes a difference to health over the years, compared to just jumping in the car.

The Total Transport Network will give everyone the option of signing up for a flexi season ticket, using either a smart phone or a pop card.  It will track how much you’ve spent over time, and once you hit a certain amount in a year, you’ll get free travel the rest of the year.  This will incentivise people to switch to public transport, without having to pay a large amount up front.

As part of the total Transport Network, we can offer tailored discounts, or free travel, on an individual basis.  So volunteers can get free travel when volunteering, apprentices can get to college. We can work with the NHS to help people get to appointments via on-demand transport.

I will lobby to get Salary Sacrifice extended.  At the moment you can get a bike or electric car on salary sacrifice, but not public transport.  The advantage is that your employer takes the cost of a season ticket out of your wages, but you save the income tax and national insurance costs, so it’s typically 32% cheaper.  Public and private employers could also offer discounts as a perk for employees, boosting recruitment and retention, and meeting their net-zero commitments.

We’re already offering reduced fares across the North East, using the bus money that we negotiated from government.  This is time limited however, so we do need to increase public transport use.