Sixth formers and teenage apprentices look set to get free bus and rail passes courtesy of the region’s first ever elected mayor, it has been revealed.
Candidates were challenged by the West Midlands Unison trade union to back free transport for 16 to 19 year olds as a way of helping hard-up young people to access education and training.
And two of the candidates – Labour’s Siôn Simon and Lib Dem Beverley Nielsen – agreed while the third, Conservative Andy Street, hinted at a positive response when he said “watch this space”.
The West Midlands Mayor, who will be elected next May , is responsible for running transport and skills policy across the region therefore subsidised travel is well within their remit.
They were speaking at a launch event for the Resolution Foundation report into employment in the region which called for drastic intervention to prevent the West Midlands from becoming the UK’s employment black spot.
Young people in particular are suffering from a lack of well-paid and high-skilled training and job opportunities, it found.
The candidates were asked by Unison regional secretary Ravi Subramanian if they agreed that free public transports for under-19s would help more working class children get into jobs and training, especially since other funding like the Education Maintenance Allowance had been cut in recent years.
There was firm backing from Ms Nielsen, who said: “Under 19s should have free transport.”
She added that, not only would it help them find work, it could be part of a solution to tackling road congestion.”
While Mr Simon said: “This is the kind of thing we ought to be doing, subsidising transport.”
He added that he was also looking to further subsidise travel for those seeking or just starting work.
Mr Street said he was drawing up a skills policy which would deal with this and urged people to “stay tuned”.
Green candidate James Burn was not at the event but later said: “Young people are one of the many groups who have been left behind by current economic plans.
“One way of supporting them could be to give them free travel passes.
“I’d really support this plan and would challenge central government to give us the budget to deliver it.”
