Labour and Tory Councillors on Merseytravel have voted to scrap subsidies paid to give children half fares on busses.

Labour and Tory Councillors on Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority (Merseytravel) have voted to scrap subsidies paid to give children half fares on busses.

Labour and the Tories joined forces to defeat a Liberal Democrat amendment, which would have saved child fares and put pressure on the Government to take action.

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Daily Post

Put children's interests first

Comment -
19th December 2007

MERSEYTRAVEL has said it wants to scrap its subsidy of child fares in a bid to force bus companies to cover the cost of providing concessionary fares for young people.

The authority points out that bus companies are profit-making businesses, and it is unreasonable to expect taxpayers to foot the bill for this valuable service.

This sounds fine in principle. However, given that bus companies are profit-making businesses, with a duty to their shareholders, it is highly unlikely that they will agree to fund this service themselves.

The alternatives are walking - which is not always appropriate - or further clogging the roads with parents acting as glorified taxi drivers. It is also likely to hit poorest families hardest.

As always, it is the interests of children which must come first, above the penny-pinching instincts of both public bodies and private bus operators.{/shadowboxwtw}

Picton Ward Councillor Andrew Makinson, a member of the Transport Authority said, "This is all about saving money, Merseytravel has been left with a huge hole in it's finances since Labour axed Merseytram. Local children will now pay the price for Labour's failure.

"The bus companies should give half fares to children without expecting the taxpayer to pick up the bill, but only the Labour Government can force them to do this. Simply scrapping the subsidy will only lead to increased fares which makes life harder for poorer familes."

"Meanwhile, more better off parents will simply choose to drive their children to school, increasing congestion, pollution and health problems.

"For the poorer kids who have to get the bus to school, this is another disincentive to go to school," added Cllr Paul Clein, Liverpool's Lib Dem Executive Member for Education.

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