Schoolchildren who do not own smartphones are facing significantly higher bus fares due to the digitization of travel passes in England. Critics argue that this move undermines government guidance aimed at keeping mobile phones out of schools.
Background
Adele Kightley, a parent from Derbyshire, highlighted the issue when her 11-year-old daughter was informed that she would have to pay an additional £546 annually for school transport. This is because a discount scheme launched by Derbyshire County Council is only accessible via smartphones.
The b_line card allows those aged 18 and under to cap single fares on trentbarton buses at £1.50. However, to qualify for this discount, users must register their card through an app. Kightley stated,
“"We made the choice not to give our daughter a smartphone, instead opting for a brick phone when she started secondary school this month. In order to get trentbarton’s young person discount, a child has to connect their student card with the app. However, they can’t get the same discount by showing the same student card to the driver and paying by cash or card."
Current Developments
Trentbarton has acknowledged the issue, stating that their ticketing machines are not configured to read council-issued cards. A spokesperson mentioned,
“"We are working at speed on developing a new physical card to provide the discounted b_line fare for under-19s. In the meantime, all young people, whether they have a smartphone or not, will continue to receive a range of discounts off our adult fares however they pay."
