Young people leaving care in Staffordshire will now benefit from free bus travel at any time of day thanks to a new county council scheme.
The Care Leavers Bus Pass is available for free to any care leavers, who will all be informed of the scheme from this month.
Unlimited free travel on any bus in Staffordshire at any time opens up opportunities to access employment, skills development and training, education and leisure facilities. Each pass will last for 12 months with the scheme being reviewed next year. Journeys must start in Staffordshire.
The scheme is another example of how county council teams are working together to support care leavers. A hugely successful Care Leavers into Employment programme has supported almost 120 young people into education, employment or training. The county council’s waste and recycling team operates the Care Leavers Hub – where goods quality used furniture and household items are provided to help young people set up in a new home.
Owen Aulton, a 21-year-old Staffordshire care leaver, has just been successful in being taken on for a youth work apprenticeship with the county council.
Owen said:
This bus pass will be a real help with general day to day living. Whilst I’m currently able to walk to work, I have friends and family across the county so using the bus for free at any time will mean I can get to them easily. It’s great that the county council has launched this scheme and I’m sure it’ll be popular.”
Andrew Mynors, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Connectivity, said:
Our new Care Leavers Bus Pass is further demonstration of how the county council is boosting young people’s opportunities – in this case through improved access to transport.
This unlimited travel pass anywhere in the county can make a huge difference to our care leavers by ensuring they can easily get to a place of work, education, training or leisure. As a county council, we’re always looking at how we can improve transport options for everyone so they’re better connected when and where they need to be.”
Nick Lakin, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:
It’s fantastic that we’re launching another initiative to support our care leavers. Free bus travel will provide the means for young people to access work, education, shopping or links to friends and family. This is so important as they begin to lead independent lives.
We’re sure this can complement our other schemes in giving them the best start and hopefully remove potential barriers. It’s great to see how different teams across the county council are working together to get the best outcomes for our care leavers.”
The care leavers scheme demonstrates how the county council is working with bus operators to improve transport connectivity for all communities. In Staffordshire, people with disabilities can travel for free at any time of day using their disabled bus pass issued by the county council – something the government has announced it will introduce nationally from April 2027.
The county council works with communities to operate trial services in response to considered local requests. And it is currently looking at how bus transport can be improved across the county for all residents by running a pilot scheme in Rugeley – people can find out more and complete a survey if they live in the area on the scheme website.
