Free bus passes to get under-18s to school or work

Under-18s in Barnsley will be able to travel on buses free of charge to make it easier for them to access education and work opportunities.

The initiative, being piloted by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council (BMBC) for 12 months, will begin on 1 August.

It will provide free bus travel for all under-18s living in the borough, covering journeys within South Yorkshire which start or end in Barnsley.

The scheme will be discussed and decided by BMBC's cabinet at its next meeting on 4 April.

Passes will be valid between 07:00 and 21:00 every day, including at weekends and during school holidays, and will be available to all young people aged five to 18.

Under-fives already travel free of charge.

Smartcards will be issued to those eligible.

There will be no charge for those, but there will be a small fee if a replacement is needed, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The project is being delivered in partnership with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, which has committed up to £1m to the initiative.

BMBC is contributing £5m towards the pilot, which will run until 31 July 2027.

The funding will go towards the cost of travel concessions, developing smartcard technology, increasing bus capacity and ensuring that there are enough resources to monitor and evaluate the impact of the scheme.

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