Young people to get £1 bus fares across Wales

Single fares will cost £1 and a full day pass will cost £3 for those aged 16 to 21

Young people will be able to access £1 single tickets for buses across Wales as part of a pilot scheme around cheaper fares.

From Monday, single fares will cost £1 and a full day pass will cost £3 for those aged 16-21, which will later be extended to five to 15-year-olds from 3 November.

MPs in England have been calling for free travel for young people, while Scotland has had free bus travel for those aged five to 21 since 2022.

Welsh government Transport Minister Ken Skates said he hoped the scheme would help young people "access education, training, employment, and leisure".

Eligible passenger and Cardiff student Ifan Stoddart, 20, said he did not use the bus at the moment, but the £1 fare may encourage him to do so.

He said it was hugely important to keep public transport costs as low as possible, to encourage people to get to and from school and work easily.

Holly Whale, 20, from Exeter, goes to university in Cardiff and said she mainly walked around the city, but believed the reduced fares would enable more opportunities for young people.

"A lot of young people cannot afford to drive," said Holly, adding that "trains are really expensive".

Both students agreed it would make them think twice about booking a taxi.

Oliver Reaper is currently without a car and says having access to affordable transport is always a win

Oliver Reaper, who lives in Cardiff and relies on public transport as he is currently without a car, said cheaper was always better.

The 24-year-old said having access to more affordable transport would have made all the difference to him as a student getting in and around the city on a tight budget.

Some college students at the end of their journey said the cheaper fees would have completely changed their experience.

Joslin Parsons, 18, from Church Village in Rhondda Cynon Taf, said she received Education Maintenance Allowance payments of £80 every two weeks, and would spend half of that on bus travel.

"I think it's an incredible thing they have been able to do," said Joslin, adding that the campaign is never too late, and it will certainly help her while she moves on to study at Cardiff University.

"Although it didn't necessarily help me in college, it will certainly help me now," says Joslin Parsons

"It allows college students to worry more about college than external factors," said Alfie Warner, 18, from Pontypridd.

He added the lower cost is "revolutionary", as he knows a lot of students who struggle to get to college due to the financial costs.

Many students welcomed the move for its environmental benefits too, as Connie Dolloway, 17, from Caerphilly, said the cheaper fees would also allow her to travel to college, part-time work, hobbies, and even socialising with friends.

A-level student Connie Dolloway says her costs will be massively reduced as she takes two buses to get to college

To get the cheaper fares, those eligible will need to apply for a mytravelpass via the Transport For Wales (TFW) website, verifying their age in order to access the discount, which is available until September 2026.

Bus services are involved on a voluntary basis and include all major bus operators.

No additional routes will be added but tickets will apply to any single journeys that start in Wales.

The Welsh government said £15m was being provided over two financial years (2025-26 and 2026-27) to support the scheme as part of a budget deal with the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Jane Dodds.

Dodds said the policy meant "young people across Wales would find it easier to travel to education, meet friends, and crucially, access jobs".

"This £1 bus fare is a transformational step forward for young people."

Lee Robinson from Transport For Wales says he hopes the scheme will keep younger people using bus services

Lee Robinson, executive director for regional transport and integration at TfW, said they had already received more than 10,000 applications for the mytravelpass.

"I think it's a really important scheme for young people to encourage them to use public transport at an affordable price," he said.

"It's a really good opportunity to get young people travelling by public transport and set some of those behaviours as a foundation for the future."

David Beer from independent transport watchdog Transport Focus said the scheme was an "attractive proposition".

"It's a time when we want to encourage people to get out of other forms of transport and get onto buses.

"It's really playing a part in terms of making that an attractive proposition."

But he added a national survey in Wales, England and Scotland conducted by the watchdog found that young people's satisfaction with value for money was lower in Wales than it was elsewhere.

"Fewer than half of young people are satisfied with value for money in Wales," he said.

Transport Focus says across the UK people in Wales are less satisfied with bus costs

Ken Skates, Minister for Transport and North Wales, said: "I am delighted to be launching a scheme that offers affordable bus travel for young people to help them access education, training, employment, and leisure, as well as supporting our efforts to encourage more people to use public transport, reduce carbon emissions and tackle poverty."

Additional reporting by Charlie Buckland