A new report published by Friends of the Earth has called for free bus travel to be extended to all people aged under 30.
The initiative, mirroring the current provision for over-65s, is one of the solutions proposed by the report’s authors, Transport for the Quality of Life, to transform public transport in the UK.
Transport takes up a growing percentage of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions with very little progress made in the last 25 years. It is the now the highest emitting sector of the economy.
The report has a number of must-do actions including:
- Re-regulation of bus services across the UK.
- A new body, Local Public Transport for England, to be set up to work with local authorities to deliver a high class bus service.
- New fund-raising powers for local authorities to finance public transport including a local public transport payroll levy. This would be in addition to current national funding.
- Free public transport for under-30s which would eventually be extended to all.