Bus Travel Affordability: Children and Young People

10. What steps she has taken to help increase the affordability of bus travel for children and young people.

The Government know how important affordable bus travel is for helping children and young people to access opportunities. That is why we are funding free bus travel for kids across England this August; it will help families to get out and about for less during the summer holidays. That builds on local initiatives from Labour Mayors in the west and north-east of England that allow children to travel by bus for free.

Last week, the all-party parliamentary group for tradespeople hosted a roundtable to discuss the barriers to young people taking up a career in the trades. Travel was raised as a particular issue. While I welcome the Government’s roll-out of new technical colleges, they are simply inaccessible to many young people, especially those in coastal communities, where transport links are poor. Once they qualify, tradespeople rely on their cars and vans to build their businesses and get to their place of work. What steps is the Minister taking, in conjunction with colleagues in the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions, to break down the barriers to opportunity for young people considering these skilled, well-paid careers, and will the Government consider offering driving lessons through apprenticeships?

My hon. Friend is right that transport has a vital role to play in unlocking opportunities for young people, as I know from growing up in a coastal community. Through the Bus Services Act 2025, we are giving local leaders greater power to shape bus services around their local needs, including in coastal and rural communities. We have confirmed over £3 billion for buses from 2026-27, which will help to improve connections to education, training and employment. I am sure that my colleagues in the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions will have heard her call for driving lessons in apprenticeships.

I am not sure that fits in with buses, but not to worry. I call Clive Jones.

If this summer’s free bus travel scheme for under-15s proves successful, will the Minister look to extend it for the future? It would help hard-working families in Wokingham make the most of their holiday period.

The Labour party is keeping bus fares low. We introduced the £3 bus fare cap, after the previous Government failed to fund any support when the previous cap expired. Beyond March next year, we will continue to keep our options open, in order to make sure that bus travel is safe, accessible and affordable for everyone.