Teens In Kent should not be treated any differently in terms of bus travel. There are a limited number of part time jobs available for students in Kent. Therefore making it extremely difficult for students in Kent to pay for their bus travel. It is becoming increasingly difficult to pay as the bus fares continue to rise and driving is not a choice as insurance for teenagers is at an extortionate price and that's all before the price of petrol! etc.
On reaching 10000 signatures a full council debate will be held. If the petition achieves between 2500 and 9999 signatures it will be referred to the appropriate Cabinet Committee.
This ePetition ran from 08/04/2011 to 07/07/2011 and has now finished.
12686 people signed this ePetition.
This e-petition has reached the required number of signatures to trigger a petition debate at County Council. This will take place on Thursday 21 July 2011.
Below are links to the papers and webcast for this meeting.
http://www.kent.ukcouncil.net/site/player/pl_compact.php?a=59067&t=&m=wm&l=en_GB#the_data_area
http://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=3483&Ver=4
There are currently over 27,000 Freedom pass holders and the
cost to KCC from council tax revenue this year (2011/1 2 ) is
projected to be £10.7m.
The cost of extending the Freedom Pass scheme on an equal basis to academic years 12-13 was last estimated in June 2010 at an additional cost of £3m - £4.5m.
This level of additional funding has always been considered too great for the County Council to fund on its own.
At the age of 16, young people become adults in terms of bus fares and for those who have to pay towards their KCC-provided transport the annual cost increases from £100 to £490 but this is still below the true cost of commercial bus season tickets - which are between £650 - £750, this fact is not always appreciated when contrasted with the significant value for money of the Kent Freedom Pass.
Kent County Council is the only authority outside of London to offer such a bold and generous scheme for young people’s concessionary bus travel.
Extension of the Kent Freedom Pass scheme to all young people beyond the age of 16 would prove popular but with the absence of external funding from Government - for what is after all a discretionary scheme - significant additional funding would have to be found from other sources . As this funding is not available, the Kent Freedom Pass will not be extended beyond those who are currently eligible.
After extensive work and consultation with young people, we believe the ‘The Pass’, a new bus pass for post 16 – 19 young learners, will be affordable for Kent Tax Payers and affordable for post 16 students.
The new policy will be trialed in three areas from September and if the trials are successful, ‘The Pass’ will be available from colleges, schools and other work based learning providers from September 2012 . In the meantime, the Council's existing policies for Kent Freedom Pass and school and college transport continue unchanged for academic year 2011/12.