Fare Deal for Young People

Thank you for your query. Cross boundary travel was not covered by the original proposals, but we will look at this as part of the development of the fare deal arrangements.  

Thank you for highlighting this question.  As part of the Fare Deal proposals we are planning to relax the rules on ID so that young people will only need to show identification to prove their age if they look older than 19 to enjoy travel discounts. Young people who do look older and need ID can apply online for a PhotoCard at wymetro.com, using a passport number to verify their age.  Currently young people who cannot apply online can apply at a bus station travel centre, and will need to provide  proof of their age and address; they do not need to have a parent with them when they apply for their photocard.

Travel and its costs has been shown to be a barrier to young people accessing training and employment so we need to be doing all we can to make our local buses and trains affordable to them. 

We have spent a lot of time speaking to young people and what they have told us is they want to fairer and simpler fares right across West Yorkshire, which is what this new, Fare Deal scheme has been designed to achieve. 

With the Fare Deal proposal, we are working with the bus companies to make bus fares simpler and more affordable.  This would mean that under 19s travelling on standard bus services will be guaranteed to pay: a maximum single fare for a short bus journey e.g. 60p for around a mile or three stops and a maximum single fare of £1.20 for longer bus journeys.

Travel and its costs has been shown to be a barrier to young people accessing training and employment so we need to be doing all we can to make our local buses and trains affordable to them. 

We have spent a lot of time speaking to young people and what they have told us is they want to fairer and simpler fares right across West Yorkshire, which is what this new, Fare Deal scheme has been designed to achieve. 

With the Fare Deal proposal, we are working with the bus companies to make bus fares simpler and more affordable.  This would mean that under 19s travelling on standard bus services will be guaranteed to pay: a maximum single fare for a short bus journey e.g. 60p for around a mile or three stops and a maximum single fare of £1.20 for longer bus journeys.

The new simplified bus fare system is just for under 19s using standard bus services and will not affect the cost of travelling on dedicated school bus services.

At the moment young people under the age of 19 can travel for half the adult fare on buses in West Yorkshire. There are multi-operator tickets (if you are using more than one bus company) e.g. MyDay or Under 19 Weekly or Monthly. Bus companies also sell their own season tickets e.g. all day, weekly or monthly, which can be used to travel on just that company’s buses. The prices for all of these ticket options vary depending on the ticket you buy and which company’s bus you are travelling on. 

We understand why people find it confusing and we don’t want it to put you off getting the bus!   

That’s one of the main reasons that we are working with the bus companies on this Fare Deal proposal – it aims to make bus fares more straightforward and easy to understand. 

Bus fares are set by the bus companies and this means that fares are different depending on which company you travel with and how far you go.    

West Yorkshire Combined Authority has a ‘concessionary fares scheme’ to make transport more affordable for some groups of people.  This includes discounting fares for young people, and at the moment Under 19’s pay half the adult fare when they get the bus.   

With the Fare Deal proposal, we are working with the bus companies to make bus fares simpler and more affordable.  This would mean that under 19s travelling on standard bus services will be guaranteed to pay: a maximum single fare for a short bus journey e.g. 60p for around a mile or three stops and a maximum single fare of £1.20 for longer bus journeys.

Thank you for your query. College students can get cheaper travel with the 19-25 or Student PhotoCard (External link)[external link - opens in new window]  which lets you enjoy unlimited travel right across West Yorkshire on any bus or train with huge savings on weekly, monthly or termly tickets.  

Thank you for your question. Unfortunately the ticket machines on buses don’t support chip and pin payments. There are still lots of other ways to pay for bus travel, including by cash on the bus, or using prepaid tickets which you can load onto an MCard(External link) [external link - opens in a new window] or via a bus company app.

Thank you for your question.

Yes, under Co-operation Agreements with the five West Yorkshire Local Councils, the Combined Authority, plans and procures around 600 school bus services across the county. 

School bus services are already heavily subsidised by the Combined Authority or Local Council, depending on the service. Typically, the annual price charged by operators to provide a service is around £45,000, and revenue from fares etc. covers only 50%-60% of the cost. Under 19 tickets are valid on most services and these represent good value for money. Exceptions to this are services that fall outside of the Combined Authority’s policy guidelines and, in respect of these services, parents are required to collectively meet the full cost of services. I regret that, for the reasons described above, there is no likelihood of a reduction in school bus fares. 

With regard to comfort, operators normally use vehicles that have been cascaded from their main fleet and are fully depreciated. This helps to keep the price of school bus services at the level described above. That said, buses should still be safe and clean, and be able to maintain a comfortable ambient temperature. The Combined Authority uses a professional independent body to carry out checks on vehicles to ensure that standards are maintained. If you do have any concerns about this, you can contact the Education team by telephone on (0113) 3481122 or by email at  EducationCustomerServices@westyorks-ca.gov.uk(External link).