Date: 23rd February 2010

Free Travel for Children Is Labour Budget Priority

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Following the motion at the last Council meeting, which called on the Tories to cost free bus travel for young people in education, the Labour Group are stepping up their calls for the Tories to fund this scheme.
The Tories voted against even this minor measure, but Labour will be moving an amendment to the budget on Thursday night, to call on the administration to fund free bus travel starting in September 2010.
It has also been confirmed that the cost of the scheme is nowhere near the £3 million claimed by Cllr Jarrett, and is in fact considerably less, echoing his inaccurate claim in previous years that half price bus fares would cost £9 million.
Cllr Teresa Murray said,
“The Tories’ record on bus services is dreadful.  In the past few months alone, they’ve rushed through the design for the bus station, ignoring all the consultation results, voted against even investigating free bus travel for young people, and been censured by the national Ombudsman for their appalling policy of charging for companion bus passes for people with disabilities.”
“They also continue to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds carrying 350 children to school, mostly from the Leader and Deputy Leader’s ward, and yet only agreed to Labour’s half price bus scheme after being shamed into it.  We’ll see on Thursday night whether they’ve learnt their lesson, and will get behind our proposal to make travel free for young people in full time education.”
“The money is there to do this- it won’t necessitate cutting any services.  It’s more a matter of political will and priorities: do they believe allowing young people to travel for free, using greener public transport, is something that Medway should be supporting?”
ENDS

For further comment please contact Cllr Teresa Murray on 01634 409486 or Mobile: 07855 378043 .  Alternatively contact the Group office on 01634 332393.