Commercial bus operators ‘should be included in free travel scheme for children’
The Sligo Champion"Children need to be treated fairly” was the message when Cllr Dara Mulvey addressed last Monday’s sitting of Sligo County Council for the local authority’s monthly meeting in relation to free bus travel for children under the age of nine.
Cllr Mulvey’s motion sought the support of Sligo County Council for the immediate inclusion of commercial bus operators in the Child Leap Scheme which provides free bus travel for children under nine.
Cllr Mulvey welcomed that 136,000 children benefit from free bus travel for children under nine describing it as an “Important cost saving measure for families.” Cllr Mulvey noted that commercial bus operators have been left out of the scheme, noting it would take €1m to include commercial bus operators in the scheme.
Criticising the fairness of the scheme Cllr Mulvey said, “Excluding the commercial providers creates inequality. There are a large cohort of children in rural areas who won’t be able to avail.”
Calling on Minister for Transport Dara O’Brien to re-examine the criteria for availing of the free bus travel, Cllr Mulvey said, “This is a great scheme, I fully welcome it but we need to include commercial operators."
Supporting the motion Cllr Gerard Mullaney said, “Commercial bus operators are playing a much greater role than they were in the past.”
Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.