The Tories want to take kids' bus passes

Graham Tue Feb 13, 2007 at 10:55:09 AM GMT Print-friendly version Facebook

The GLA Tories are proposing budget cuts that would take away free bus travel to the under 18s in London.



The move shows just how nasty the Tories when it really comes down to it. It would hit London's poorest families hardest, as the cut would take a bigger chunk of disposable income from them.

The TUC are organising a lobby tomorrow - so all those who can get there please do.

The Mayor has also sent out a message about it, which I've blogged over here:
http://the-daily.org/2007/02/13/ken-tories-trying-to-kick-our-kids-off-the-bus/


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The Tories want to take kids' bus passes | 13 comments (13 topical)

Re: The Tories want to take kids' bus passes (#1)

by Glass House on Tue Feb 13, 2007 at 11:11:51 AM GMT

See, this is why I'm not a Tory - shortsighted nonesense.


Re: The Tories want to take kids' bus passes (#2)

by redflag on Tue Feb 13, 2007 at 05:14:53 PM GMT

This is one of the best policies in London. I wish we could expand it across the country.

The London Tories aren't going to lose any votes by cutting this - as posh kids never get on a bus.

However - there should be a time limit for free bus use for kids. It should be for getting to and from school only. Not for travelling around London whilst truanting. And not for travelling around late in the evening in big gangs causing bother.


Re: The Tories want to take kids' bus passes (#3)

by jamesmurray on Wed Feb 14, 2007 at 10:16:34 PM GMT

A time limit on free bus travel would undermine a important benefit of the scheme, since this is about more than just going to school.

Giving kids access to free bus travel 7 days a week improves access for low-income families wanting to use the bus at the weekend, as well as allowing young people to travel around the city after school or in the evening. Child poverty is 38% in London - this scheme gives 385,000 kids and their families a whole range of opportunities to use the city, not just to go to school.

Concerns about "gangs of youths" travelling around causing mayhem is one of the arguments the Tories used for cutting the service and replacing it with school buses (in just 6 of London's 32 boroughs).

Yes some kids will behave badly on buses. But they may well do so anyway even if they were paying. I doubt free bus travel causes a long term rise in truanting - this is a separate issue. And if the "big gangs" were not causing bother on the buses they may well be on street corners "causing bother".

The notion of gangs abusing the system demonises kids, most of whom benefit massively from this policy without causing bother. And anyway, kids get their passes revoked for anti-social behaviour, so it's a good incentive to behave.

Anti-social behaviour problems should be dealt with; but this should not be used as an argument against a universal scheme.


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Re: The Tories want to take kids' bus passes (#4)

by Omar on Wed Feb 14, 2007 at 11:36:00 PM GMT

The Tory plans to scrap free bus and tram travel in London for under 18s in full time education received a setback today as the London Assembly blocked the Tory alternative budget. Instead, Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone had his budget approved.

Well done to all those who worked to organise opposition to the Tory plans and came along to today's lobby of the London Assembly. Thanks especially to Laurie Heselden from SERTUC for all his work and to London Young Labour Treasurer Kris Brown for some great placards.

More details here.


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Re: The Tories want to take kids' bus passes (#5)

by Mark Wadsworth on Thu Feb 15, 2007 at 09:50:54 AM GMT

Ah well, let's overlook Saudi arms deals, war in Iraq, cash for peerages, massive tax hikes, hundreds of billions of wasted taxpayer's money, mass unemployment and so on, if those wicked evil Tories want to make young people pay for bus and train tickets then how could any reasonable person not vote Labour?


Re: The Tories want to take kids' bus passes (#6)

by Glass House on Thu Feb 15, 2007 at 09:54:05 AM GMT

All politics is local - and local bus services are often the most political of local services.

And what mass unemployment are you talking about?


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Re: The Tories want to take kids' bus passes (#7)

by Mark Wadsworth on Thu Feb 15, 2007 at 03:26:11 PM GMT

Two and a half million people on incapacity benefit and maybe another half a million on IB or JSA.


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Re: The Tories want to take kids' bus passes (#8)

by Glass House on Thu Feb 15, 2007 at 04:00:44 PM GMT

"IB"?


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Re: The Tories want to take kids' bus passes (#9)

by Mark Wadsworth on Thu Feb 15, 2007 at 04:53:32 PM GMT

Oh b*gger, I meant IS = Income Support.


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Re: The Tories want to take kids' bus passes (#10)

by Glass House on Thu Feb 15, 2007 at 05:39:34 PM GMT

To be honest - it's hardly mass unemployment.

Did I read somewhere that the economy has around 500,000 vacancies at any one time? It's not like the economy has ground to a halt.


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Re: The Tories want to take kids' bus passes (#11)

by Mark Wadsworth on Thu Feb 15, 2007 at 07:41:43 PM GMT

We all know that the Tories used to tweak the figures. To keep the headline number down, they invented Incapacity Benefit (or its precursor) for unemployed people with a bit of backache just to get them off the unemployed list.

There were half a million IB claimants in 1980 and now there are two and a half million, so Labour are just as guilty in the figure-tweaking department.

Two and a half plus another half or one million on IS/JSA makes three million plus, that's ten percent of the working age population, if that's not mass unemployment I don't know what is.

OK it is not as bad as 4 million peak under the Tories, but Brown et al keep boasting how well the economy is doing (and to be fair it's doing OK), but if it were doing as well as they claim, then surely there wouldn't be three million unemployed.

Have you read the Citizen's Income thing yet?


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Re: The Tories want to take kids' bus passes (#12)

by Glass House on Thu Feb 15, 2007 at 07:44:52 PM GMT

yeah. read it yesterday.


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Re: The Tories want to take kids' bus passes (#13)

by hoinbadger on Mon Mar 26, 2007 at 07:35:20 PM GMT

Free travel on the buses should be a privilege, not a right to be abused.What isn't paid for often isn't appreciated and is taken for granted.
Some of the behaviour by children on buses is appalling, intimidating old people and adult passengers alike with swearing, spitting and violence. An old lady spoke on the radio today, saying that the police had advised her not to travel on the buses when they were being used by school children; what an appalling state of affairs is that? And what have children done to earn the right to free bus travel? Absolutely nothing.


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The Tories want to take kids' bus passes | 13 comments (13 topical)