Tories Reject Lib Dem Free Bus Travel Plans (Party People Article)

9.00.00am GMT Fri 5th Feb 2010

One of the worst things an elected Councillor can do is to deliberately misinform the public. In this instance, it is Conservative Councillor Alan Jarrett who stated that opposition Councillors want to cut key services to pay for free bus travel for all 11 to 18 year olds. This is completely untrue.

Andy Stamp, Liberal Democrat Candidate for Gillingham & Rainham

It was the Liberal Democrats at January's full meeting of Medway Council who proposed introducing free bus travel for young people in Medway. In a recorded vote, every single Conservative Councillor present at the meeting voted against free travel.

Medway Council's annual budget is more than £500 million. In the past year alone the Council has sold off more than £16 million worth of land and property. Our proposal would cost a maximum of £3 million per year.

Providing free bus travel for teenagers in Medway would bring huge benefits in many different ways. Firstly, it would help local families. Parents would not feel they had to drive their children around everywhere. Young people could become more independent by making their own way around the towns.

Families would be better off financially too, spending less on petrol and transport fares.

Less car journeys and more public transport usage would cut down on traffic congestion and reduce carbon emissions. Fewer cars on the roads would make it quicker to get from place to place, helping the local economy in the process.

Medway's worsening air quality could be reversed. The Council's loss-making leisure centres would get used more. After all, what is the point in improving the Black Lion Leisure Centre (now imaginatively renamed 'Medway Park') if young people in Medway can't get to it easily.

When common sense ideas are proposed that benefit all of Medway's residents, the Conservatives seem to have very short arms and even deeper pockets. But they always seem to find the money for their pet projects, like bailing out the new innovation centre to the tune of £300,000 every year for the next 25 years.

Everywhere else in Kent and other areas including London benefits from free bus travel for teenagers. Yet again, the people of Medway are missing out.