£1 bus scheme for teens in Staffordshire could be cut
A discount bus fare scheme for teenagers is facing the axe next month – despite calls for Staffordshire County Council to reconsider its decision.
The Your Staffordshire Card was introduced by the council in 2011 to offer 16-19 year-olds £1 bus fares.
It went on to win an award and at its peak there were 35,000 cardholders making 2.4m bus journeys a year – at a cost of £600,000 to the public purse.
But in recent years the number of card holders has dwindled to fewer than 9,000 – a drop of 76 per cent – and there were 700,000 bus journeys in 2018/19 – a fall of 80 per cent.
In June the cabinet agreed to end the Your Staffordshire Card scheme as part of its measures to balance its books and cut costs.
But opponents to the move have said it will affect families on low incomes who rely on public transport to travel for education, work, or to meet friends, leaving them isolated.
The cabinet decision was called in for discussion by Councillor Susan Woodward, the opposition group leader, on Thursday at the council's corporate review committee.
Councillor Woodward said there were differences and gaps in discount travel schemes available across the county to young people and raised concerns that these were not fully known.
She urged the council to refer the decision back to cabinet for reconsideration.
But her proposal was defeated and the committee instead agreed to back the original decision to end the scheme on August 31.
Councillor Ian Parry, who chairs the Prosperous Staffordshire Select Committee, said: "The card was a tremendous success when it kicked off – the uptake was remarkable and it outstripped our expectations. It won national recognition and we were very pleased and proud of it.
“Things change over time and there were changes made to the provision. Now we have seen a dramatic reduction in its use.
“Young people have chosen to travel in a different way and to use public transport in a different way. I think it would be good to get to the bottom of that.
“It’s one of those difficult decisions no-one really wants to take that the council is faced with – does it make the saving as a contribution towards overall savings the council has to achieve or does it try and find a different way?"
