Clash over free bus travel

Ken Livingstone's plans to give teenagers free bus travel have come under attack from one of his closest advisers.

The Mayor is to allow under-16s to travel free from September, extending this to under-18s a year later. At present, children under 11 are not required to pay.

But his chief transport expert, Bob Kiley, said extending "freebies" to teenagers - which will cost up to £120 million a year - will cause cash problems for Transport for London. Mr Kiley, the capital's transport commissioner, told the London Assembly: "Freebies are not one of my favourite subjects. Our organisation is heavily dependent on fare income for what it does."

London's passenger watchdog has warned of bedlam on the buses, saying an influx of rowdy teenagers could drive adult passengers back into their cars. Opposition parties on the Assembly also claim the proposals - one of the Mayor's key manifesto commitments - are poor value for money.

But the Mayor is determined to press ahead and reduce travel costs for lowincome families and cut school-run congestion. He estimates that bus use by secondary school pupils at peak times will increase from 30 to 37 per cent of all school trips.

He said his plans - which will see hundreds of thousands of teenagers issued with free Oyster cards to use on buses - would also encourage many to stay on at school.

"London cannot afford a poorly educated workforce, nor can it afford not to make education as accessible and attractive as possible to all of London's young people," he said. TfL estimatesit will lose £60 million a year in revenue when under-16s are allowed to travel free on the 8,000-strong bus fleet. This loss will rise to between £80 million and £90 million a year when it is extended to under-18s in full-time education.

It will also cost an extra £30 million to lay on more buses to cope with the extra passengers, though seats could be freed by a fall in adults travelling by bus.

TfL is waiting to see the effect of the 13 per cent fares rise introduced by the Mayor in January, which aims to raise an extra £80 million a year.

But the London Transport Users' Committee has strongly condemned the plans, saying teenagers should walk to school rather than being given free rides.

A survey on its website found many adults opposed free travel for teenagers - though some thought it could encourage them to use public transport as adults.

LTUC chairman Brian Cooke said: "We are also concerned that this policy may encourage vandalism, graffiti and and unsocial behaviour. Has Ken ever been on a bus at school-finishing time and seen the chaos? This policy will make it even worse."

Roger Evans, Tory transport spokesman on the London Assembly, said: "I think that the scarce transport budget could be spent in better ways. It takes money out of the fare box at a time when the fares are being put up above inflation."

But Mr Livingstone said: "Our polls show that 80 per cent of Londoners support free travel on buses for under-18 year olds in full-time education. Just 17 per cent are opposed. This policy will help hundreds of thousands of families with children at school throughout London."