Currently a family of four can pay up to £14.40 for a return journey into the city for school, work or leisure – that’s £74.50 a week! With the cost-of-living crisis biting, families are having to choose how their ever-reducing income is being used. The current policy of £1 evening bus fares favours young people going out for the evening, but does not help families or working people, such as our fantastic key workers.
Only 39% of people in Southampton have access to a car and only 4% use public transport at least five or more days each week, so this measure would help residents get out and about and support Southampton’s day and night time economies. In addition, it would reduce the number of cars on the roads, so would improve congestion and allow buses to keep to their timetables while encouraging people to use the buses again post-Covid, and improve air quality for us all.
Implementing this flat-fare bus policy would actively help people’s purses from emptying, leaving them more able to buy food and keep warm. As news comes out that parents are choosing to eat less so they can put food on the table for their children, Southampton residents desperately need practical help now.
A similar scheme has been rolled out in successfully in Taunton,
Somerset, so why not here? Come on Southampton Council – show
our hard-working families that the council is really behind them at
a time of crisis. Show care for the people of Southampton every
minute of the day – not just at Christmas time!
This ePetition ran from 05/12/2022 to 04/04/2023 and has now finished.
1030 people signed this ePetition.
This petition having reached over 750 signatures was added to the Agenda for the meeting of the Council's Overview and Scrutiny Meeting on 13 April