Free travel for children and young people in London

This House notes that as part of the emergency funding deal for Transport for London the Government has insisted on the suspension of free travel for under 18 year olds in London, despite children and young people being able to travel around the capital for free, or at a discounted rate since 2005; expresses concern about the effect of this policy on low income households in a city where 37 per cent of all children are living in poverty; recognises that the decision will reverse the significant benefits of the policy which academic research has shown to include greater social inclusion, reduced car use, and reduced road casualties; recognises the acute need for investment in young people to compensate for the pause in education during the covid-19 outbreak; further recognises the significant opposition to the policy by London’s young people including a petition by Joshua Brown-Smith with has already gathered over 185,000 signatures, along with the opposition by Child Poverty Action Group in their #DontZapTheZip campaign; and calls on the Government to drop its harmful plans for suspending free and discounted travel for children and young people in London.