Mum's fury over £700 bill after Kent Young Person's Travel Pass hike

A mum-of-three has described her anger over the latest rise in Kent County Council’s Young Person Travel Pass

The 20 per cent hike means parents will be forced to fork out £350 a year.

The cost of the deal has been steadily increasing over the last few years with the Kent County Council subsidised pass rising from £100 in 2013 to £290 last September.

The latest increase is likely to hit families across the county with one single mum calling it a “kick in the teeth for struggling parents.”

Mum of three, Rue Levett, 46, of Chiddingstone Hoath, said she had no alternative but to borrow money to pay for last year’s pass and would find it even harder this year.

“It’s going to cost me £700 - that’s a huge amount - especially as my son often doesn’t get a seat and the bus is often late making him late for school. You are paying for the privilege of getting to school and not getting very much.

"It just makes me angry because it is money I cannot afford. I am on working cash credits and I just don’t have that sort of money,” she said.

But Kent County Council, which agreed the increase at a Environment and Transport Committee on Tuesday (March 19), said it was offering parents the chance to pay for the pass in £10 instalments with families only charged for the first two children.

The rise, part of an £800,000 cut to the scheme’s budget, was overwhelmingly passed with only three councillors voting against.

One of them - Liberal Democrat councillor, Anthony Hook said: “I really regret this and the extra £60 is a kick in the teeth to families, or £120 if they have two children at a time where cost of living is already going up with more money on council tax, grocery bill and energy bills.

“Society in 2019 is vastly richer than it was in 1991 so just looking at the big picture, I don’t understand why we were able to provide all our schoolchildren with free transport in 1991 but we have to charge them in 2019.”

He added the price of public transport could be “dissuading parents” from using the bus - causing congestion and parking issues.

But cabinet member for transport Mike Whiting (Con) said the cash strapped council could not afford free school transport. “We have maintained something that other councils simply don’t provide but to do that we’ve had to reduce the subsidy that we are able to offer. We still spend £8.1 million on this scheme but we had to reduce the subsidy to make it affordable.”

Children on free school meals will be charged £100 while those in care will continue to receive free transport, the committee agreed.

The cost of a school bus pass for children age 16 plus will remain at £400.