Kids get to hop on buses for free again in Swansea

Children living in Swansea will be able to use public transport for free during the Easter holidays.

Swansea Council has announced plans to offer another free bus travel scheme similar to the one operating during the Christmas holidays in December last year.

The public transport initiative will give children aged between 5 - 16 the opportunity to use buses in Swansea for free from March 31 to April 15.

Every child within the age group and who lives in Swansea will qualify for a bus pass. Schools in the city will distribute the passes to children before they break up for the Easter holidays.

The previous scheme received praise from Keith Towler, the Children's Commissioner for Wales, and local bus operator - First Cymru, said there was a noticeable uplift in the number of young people using public transport over the Christmas period.

Jonathan Atter, Headteacher of Gwyrosydd Primary School praised the scheme. He said: "The free bus tickets initiative for children has been brilliant for the children at our school. At a time when money is tight in the home it has meant that parents don't have to worry about transport costs and it has given children the opportunity to go to organised events around the city or to meet their friends in town.

"All in all it's made leisure time and family time more affordable. We are really pleased to see the initiative being run again at Easter."

John Hague, Cabinet Member for the Environment in Swansea Council, said: "We're delighted that we are in a position to offer free travel to young people living in Swansea once again.

"Our intention during the last Christmas holidays was to boost the use of public transport, reduce the cost to families and to encourage more people into the city centre so that retailers could also benefit. This was all achieved and our plan is to make it happen again."

For the Christmas holidays in 2011, figures supplied by First Cymru, showed that patronage on their Swansea services rose significantly as a result. More than 26,000 passenger journeys were made during the offer period, almost double the number for the same period in 2010.

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This page last updated on March 20 2012