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Today I had the pleasure of launching the roll out of our
scheme to give all 11 to 16 year olds free travel on buses, not
just to and from school but in the evenings and weekends
too.
KCC is the first authority to introduce
Freedom Passes, after working with the
Kent
Youth County Council.
It was young people who told us one of the things they value
most is being able to get out and about; see their mates; and have
more access to sport, leisure and youth clubs.
It will also open up a wider choice of schools for parents, and,
with fewer cars on the road, cut congestion.
Obviously the scheme comes with a price tag, but the £50 admin
fee for the pass is well worth it when you total up how much you'd
spend on bus fares in a year.
One young person I met this morning said she spends £25 a week
in bus fares - after paying the admin fee she gets 50 free weeks'
travel a year.
I'm really delighted that after the successful pilot we are able
to roll out the scheme throughout the county.
From June the pass will be available right across Maidstone,
Tonbridge and Malling, Dover and Shepway.
From next January, Swale and Thanet will be included, and from
June 2009 the pass will be available countywide.
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