It could affect thousands
Bee Network buses are under the mayor’s control(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
A quarter of Greater Manchester MPs have called on Andy Burnham to make a change to the Bee Network which could affect thousands.
Graham Stringer is the latest MP to call on the mayor to introduce a new bus pass.
The veteran Labour politician has backed a Manchester Evening News’ campaign to secure a free bus pass for homeless children in temporary accommodation more than a 30 minutes’ walk from school.
School transport campaign
Greater Manchester’s homeless parents face an impossible choice: Try and find the money to keep their children in the classroom, or move schools.
It’s a choice we believe no parent should make.
That’s why we call on Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, to implement a free bus pass for children in temporary accommodation more than a 30-minute walk from their original school.
Greater Manchester’s homeless families are often placed in temporary accommodation far from home, so their children go from walking to school to being miles away.
Council rules say children are only eligible for free transport if they are more than two miles from school, and there’s no ‘suitable school’ nearer. But it’s almost-impossible to be further than three miles from a school in the city.
That presents homeless parents a difficult choice: Pay for buses they previously didn’t need to afford, or move their children to a different school, if places are available.
Mr Stringer — who has represented parts of north Manchester, Salford, and Rochdale, for 28 years — has now publicly supported the M.E.N. campaign to remove this dilemma.
He said: “It is vital that children keep in contact with their school and friends when they have been moved into temporary accommodation, a free bus pass would be an enormous help in ensuring that these vital contacts are maintained.”
Graham Stringer, MP for Blackley and Middleton South(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
The Labour man is the seventh Greater Manchester MP to make the call, meaning just over a quarter of the region’s 27 MPs have backed the campaign.
Others include Labour’s Rebecca Long-Bailey (Salford), Christian Wakeford (Bury South), Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton South and Walkden), and Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme). Two Liberal Democrats have also lent their support: Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) and Tom Morrison (Cheadle).
Previously, a mayoral spokesperson said: “We are doing a lot to make travel easier and more affordable for everyone in Greater Manchester, including children and young adults. That includes £1 single bus fares, free travel for 16-18-year-olds, an extension of free travel for care leavers and, from next month, half price bus travel for 18-21-year-olds.
“Transport for Greater Manchester is currently undertaking a broader review of concessions, considering all the requests for support that we get from a range of groups across the city-region, and the mayor has asked them to ensure this is included.”
School transport campaign
Greater Manchester’s homeless parents face an impossible choice: Try and find the money to keep their children in the classroom, or move schools.
It’s a choice we believe no parent should make.
That’s why we call on Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, to implement a free bus pass for children in temporary accommodation more than a 30-minute walk from their original school.