Families across the West can look forward to more affordable festive outings, with Kids Go Free returning to local buses from 20 December to 4 January.
Around 150,000 children aged 5-15 in Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire will be able to travel for free simply by hopping on board, with no pass or registration required.
The announcement was made at Bath’s Christmas Market, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year with more than 250 stalls. Local council leaders and the Mayor confirmed the Christmas offer is back following the success of the summer scheme.
Over the seven-week school holidays, more than 910,000 free journeys saved parents and carers almost £1 million. The most common word families used to describe the initiative was ‘money-saving’, with many saying it helped them get out and about more often.
Local attractions and high streets also saw a boost. Radstock, Bath, Midsomer Norton, Yate and Chipping Sodbury recorded some of the highest increases in footfall and spending, all outperforming the UK average for August.
Bristol BID found non-essential spending rose by 3.5% year-on-year, while Visit West attractions reported their busiest post-pandemic July and a near-return to 2021 visitor levels in August.
Kids Go Free is funded through the £13.5 million Bus Grant secured by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority from the Department for Transport.
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said, “Kids Go Free is back! After 910,000 free journeys for under-16s this summer, putting almost £1 million back in people’s pockets, the return of our regional initiative will spread some Christmas cheer and help families at what’s often an expensive time of year.”
She added, “Working with local councils and bus operators, using devolved funding from government, we hope to see more children using the West’s buses once again – opening up more of our wonderful region for our young people.”
The Christmas offer comes ahead of next month’s regional child poverty action plan. The Mayor is expected to set out a “proudly interventionist approach” to supporting families. The Brigstow Institute at the University of Bristol and Room 13 Hareclive are also working with schools and youth groups, including in Hartcliffe and Barton Hill, to better understand how the summer scheme helped children in more deprived communities. Short surveys for parents, carers and children remain open until 12 December.
The free travel offer will run on all registered commercial and supported bus services starting in Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. A small number of exemptions, such as airport routes, will be listed on the Travelwest website.
Outside the offer period, child fares remain capped at £1, and under-fives continue to travel for free on most West of England services.
