Nearly half a million children sign up for cheap bus travel

The number of children using Jersey's bus company has risen by almost half a million since a cheaper bus pass was introduced.LibertyBus' AvanchiCard scheme gives children under 18 access to unlimited use of the service for £25 a year.The States voted to approve the plans in December 2021 as part of the Jersey Government Plan. Kevin Hart, director of LibertyBus, said 1.1m children used the school buses in 2024, up from 650,000 in 2021.
Despite having reservations at the start, Mr Hart said the scheme had been "hugely successful"."I wasn't in favour because I knew young people would catch a bus for one or two stops, and then get off," he told BBC Radio Jersey."But now 20% of our passengers are children, which is a really good thing because they are the future bus users."Mr Hart added that the fact the school buses are so full means fewer cars are on the roads for the school run."[Children] accept that the bus is convenient and it's actually given parents so much more freedom. They don't have to pick them up or drop them off at school," he said.

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