A FREE BUS tickets scheme in Coventry would boost passenger numbers and air quality, a councillor and green campaigner claims.
Nuneaton Green and Warwickshire County councillor Keith Kondakor says such a scheme could ‘change the culture’ in the city and encourage bus use.
He wants Coventry City Council to lobby for the introduction of a temporary scheme of this kind and lead by example.
He suggested a pilot scheme would prove the economic benefits of such an initiative and could run during Coventry’s year as UK City of Culture 2021.
The scheme would have to be approved by Transport for West Midlands – which co-ordinates investment to improve the region’s transport infrastructure – and the private companies which operate bus services.
Coun Kondakor’s suggestion is a response to the success of a scheme in Dunkirk, France, along with others introduced in nations such as China, implemented in a bid to reduce air pollution.
Bus use across England is falling and in the West Midlands there has been a 10 per cent drop – equating to tens of millions of passengers – since 2011.
He said: “It would be great to try it in Coventry and maybe tie it in with City of Culture or something – where you are going to have a lot more people using public transport and a lot more traffic.
“Buses are on such a decline as fares keep going up and doing something wacky like having a month of free bus travel would be a good experiment to see if we can get buses used again by more people.
“I think it should be about a change of culture rather than spending money on big capital projects – we spend millions on big road schemes.
“Buses are the future for cities. Let’s try a free bus scheme and let’s see what economic benefits and air quality benefits it brings.
“Free public transport, particularly on the local bus services, would be such a great experiment and it would change the council from being a backwards doing-as-little-as-possible council into a leader in Britain in terms of trying to get people back on buses.
“I really want to promote buses and get them used as they are in London.
“In London the mayor, MPs, the rich, the poor, everyone just hops on a bus and we need that culture in Coventry.
“In a city like Coventry its got the low-car ownership, the density and the frequency of routes to make it really successful – and its a regulated bus service.”
Coun Kondakor used the example of Ryanair’s effect on aviation – although bad for the environment – its low costs boosted use.
We have approached Transport for West Midlands and Coventry City Council for comment.
