Charging for buses makes no sense, says Steve Norris 08/03/04

Conservative Mayoral candidate Steve Norris said today that the Government's proposals to allow councils to charge children to use buses would not work in London.

Steve said that his plans to introduce school buses for primary school children would give parents a real alternative. During the morning peak hours, the motoring organisations have estimated that the "school run" makes up over 10% of the traffic.

Steve said:

"As Mayor, I intend to provide free school buses for all primary school children in Haringey. If the Government now wants to charge children at secondary schools for using public transport, it would just confuse parents and encourage them to continue the 'school run'."

"The benefits of giving parents a real alternative to driving their kids to school every day hugely outweigh the costs in terms of reduced congestion. The Government should think again about its plans."

ENDS.