It seems odd sometimes that something that is obvious to so many people, still doesn't have universal recognition or acceptance. I tend to find this in the transport and mobility sector. So often, we attend events and conferences which are characterised not by debate and discord, but by violent agreement. Everyone seems to have realised that efficient public transport is a crucial pre-requisite for economic growth, regional regeneration, social mobility and environmental progress. And yet we still don't act to unleash it's power – at least, not in a truly meaningful way.
Transport is a fundamental enabler for us to connect with people, whether through work, socially or by accessing education. And although we live our lives in the digital age and in a changed post-Covid world, we still need to and aspire to move around. The increasing need to reduce congestion on our roads and lessen our negative environmental impact points directly to making public transport as accessible and attractive as possible – particularly for future generations. But right now, we are failing to do that.
Many countries – Estonia, Luxembourg and even Scotland come to mind – have recognised that to get people using public transport, it starts by encouraging positive behaviours early in life. That translates into creating an easily accessible system that's not burdened with excessive costs. There is already ample evidence that car ownership is less important to young people today than it has been in the past – particularly in urban areas. Effectively, we are pushing against the proverbial open door, if we want to seize the opportunity for generational change.
In the UK, there have been a range of regional, albeit limited, programmes to subsidise public transport for the under 18s, based primarily on the fact that these young people are the least able to afford it. Under 18s generally don't earn a substantial income, if at all, but they still need transport independently to reach key services, particularly education.
With that in mind, what's stopped us having a fully connected and coherent policy in England and Wales to provide young people with free travel? Today, the UK's public transport system is increasingly expensive and complex, which has resulted in generations of young people being deterred from using it. The inconsistencies in devolved political powers, in regional funding models and concessions mean that effectively, there is a regional lottery in terms of the cost and ease of accessing public transport services. So why don't we directly address this? At Worldline, we've thought about this, and we are proposing a new systemic solution – a digital-first, blanket concession for under-18s across rail, buses, trams and other forms of public transport.
Our assessment is that the annual loss to the fares basket if we were to make rail, bus and tram fares free to all those under 18 years of age is between £793-986m per annum. By contrast, the English National Travel Concession Scheme, allowing free off-peak bus travel for those of pensionable age and those with disabilities (excluding London) cost £855m, principally through fare reimbursements. GVA per head would increase, probably by enough to cover the cost, before considering the benefits to local and regional authorities who would no longer need to fund their disparate schemes.
These are not small numbers, but if we can manage to avoid the tendency (especially across government) to look at public transport as a cost to be managed rather than a national asset in which to be invested, we can begin to realise the enormous and long reaching benefits such a policy change would bring.
Families would save – lowering transport costs, including home to school transport – amounting to around £487 per child every year. Access to education (potentially previously denied due to the cost of transport), to employment opportunities as well as to arts, sport, music and culture would potentially change the life chances of millions of young people at a stroke. Young people's well-being would benefit from reduced loneliness and isolation.
And arguably, most importantly of all, we would create a generation who believe that public transport is for them. A Smart Transport Generation, confident in and fully engaged with all forms of transport.
If you'd like to read more, you can find the Worldline white paper "Where The Journey Begins" here: https://worldline.com/content/dam/worldline/global/documents/ebooks/future-transport.pdf
