Reform pushes ahead with bus pass price hike

SOME FAMILIES MUST PAY 26% MORE FOR SCHOOL TRAVEL

- By SIMON FINLAY

A BID to stop Kent County Council from increasing the price of concessionary bus passes for schoolchildren has failed.

A cross-party call-in of the decision to raise the annual cost of Kent Travel Saver (KTS) passes by £35 per student - an increase of 26 per cent for the poorest families - in the 2026-27 academic year offered hope it might be reconsidered.

The council's scrutiny committee rejected the challenge, which was brought by members of the Green party, the Liberal Democrats, and Restore Britain, last Thursday (June 11).

Parents of around 3,100 children on the lowest KTS charge will now have to pay £170 for the pass in the new school year, instead of £135.

The council has no statutory obligation to provide subsidised travel, and the KTS scheme has a net cost to the authority of £5 million a year.