Digital Bus Fares Force Smartphone Use on Schoolchildren

Schoolchildren without smartphones face paying hundreds of pounds extra in annual bus fares because cheaper travel passes are only available through mobile apps. Critics say this practice works against government guidance to keep phones out of schools.

Impact On Families

Adele Kightley says her 11-year-old daughter faces paying an extra £546 a year for travel because a discount scheme from Derbyshire county council requires a smartphone app. The b_line card caps single fares on trentbarton buses at £1.50 for young people aged 18 and under, but users must register the card through an app. Kightley chose to give her daughter a basic phone instead of a smartphone when she started secondary school. Because bus ticketing machines cannot read the council cards directly, children without smartphones cannot get the same discount by showing a physical card to the driver.

Industry And Official Stance

A trentbarton spokesperson said the company is working on a new physical card to provide the discounted fare for under-19s, noting that all young people currently receive other adult fare discounts regardless of how they pay. East Midlands combined county authority stated it sympathises with parents and will look at how young people access discounted fares. Daisy Greenwell, co-founder of the campaign group Smartphone Free Childhood, said the digital-only passes penalise poorer households and conflict with efforts to restrict screen time. More than 200,000 parents have signed a parent pact to delay getting children smartphones until at least age 14. Other regional operators, including Stagecoach and Compass, also require smartphones for their best discounts. The Department for Education noted that its mobile phone ban legislation does not cover travel to school and that app-only discounts are a matter for individual operators.

Context

Public transport systems across various regions are increasingly shifting toward digital ticketing apps to lower administrative costs and streamline operations. However, this digital transition often creates unexpected hurdles for populations that lack access to smartphones or digital payment methods, highlighting a gap between modern technology policies and everyday public services.